August 6th, 2006
Two Teenagers Arrested in VA Laptop Theft
By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Remember the VA laptop case, in which a laptop with the records of 26.5 million veterans was stolen May 3 (and thankfully, recovered June 28)? Two teenagers, both 19, have been arrested.
Jesus Alex Pineda, 19, and Christian Brian Montano, 19, both of Rockville, Md., were arrested early Saturday, Montgomery County police said. “I commend the FBI, Montgomery County Police, VA’s Office of Inspector General and other law enforcement agencies for their professionalism and diligence throughout this investigation,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson said in a statement. “Today’s announcement that arrests have been made is good news.” Source: MSNBC
We Say: Yes, it’s good that they arrested these two. Most likely these two didn’t realize what they were getting, and according to the FBI, the data was not accessed.
But it still doesn’t address the real question: why are laptops with sensitive information, in this case and others, being let out the door without being encrypted. I just received an email from IT last week at my company; none of us carry any material of this nature, yet they’re going to install encryption software on all our laptops. If we can do it (and we’re a smaller company), why doesn’t the government do it?
Doma says:
Your questions about why there wasn’t better security were answered here:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/08/va_laptop_arrests.html
August 6th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
Barry says:
Because they’re the government - essentially they’re idiots who can’t be bothered to protect our data.
August 6th, 2006 at 7:56 pm
Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
Two Teenagers Arrested In V.A. Laptop Theft
Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes: Remember the V.A. laptop case, in which a laptop with the records of 26.5 million veterans was stolen May 3 (and thankfully, recovered June 28)? Two teenagers, both 19, have been arrested. Jesus Alex Pineda, 19, an…
August 7th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
William Fletcher says:
Yes is data is taken out of the government building it should be encrypted. My question is, why is data like this ever allowed to be taken out of the building?
August 8th, 2006 at 3:10 am
Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
Vets To Get Free Credit Monitoring… No Thanks To The Government
Michael Santo of RealTechNews writes: The loss of a huge amount of Veteran’s Administration data earlier in the year should be old news to everyone. Fortunately, the laptop was found and, according to the FBI, there was little evidence to indicate tha…
August 15th, 2006 at 5:37 pm
Alice Hill's Real Tech News - Independent Tech says:
Veterans Administration to Use Encryption
By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Looks like the Veterans Administration may have learned something from the loss of the laptop and its subsequent return, as reported by Michael, they have hired two “mobile security specialist” c…
August 17th, 2006 at 9:13 am
» The V.A.’s at it Again: Info for 1.8 Million People Lost » Blog Archive Alice Hill’s Real Tech News - Independent Tech says:
[…] You may recall last year the Veteran’s Administration lost a laptop (all right, all right, it was stolen) with information for 26.5 million veterans. So this is really a drop in the bucket, right? […]
February 12th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Darius M. says:
Great article on laptop theft and how serious it can be for everyone.
Here’s a great article on thieves that steal laptop computers, why they do it (datat mining, quick cash on Ebay, etc…), how they do it and how to best protect yourself and your laptop. This is a absolute must read for everyone:
How to take a major bite out of laptop computer theft from Bestbraindrain.com
Darius M.
September 11th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Hard Drive Encryption: For the Home as Well? | Etixet Tag Cloud Archive 10.000 Web Site Feed says:
[…] I wrote earlier at RealTechNews about the arrest of the teenagers involved in the VA laptop theft. This, the loss of yet another PC with VA information, plus the fact that my company will be installing encryption software on all our laptops … despite the fact that none of us carry information like on the VA laptop … started me thinking. I’ve got Quicken data on my hard drive (password protected), and other sensitive personal data on my hard drives. Now, all of them are password protected, but I’m wondering … nowadays, should people consider encrypting their own personal hard drives? […]
January 7th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
翻译公司 says:
Year in 1976, Peter Long, shaking his head, the Tangshan earthquake, but the prosperity of China after 30!
Year 2008, Long to take off, the first jet in one breath, the South under the snow.
Then placed the end of (its tail ride in Myanmar coast), the wind blowing in Myanmar.
Dengkou also kicked in Wenchuan vacated Feiqi, Wenchuan a major earthquake.
Long takeoff there must be a big move意外伤害保险!
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