WALTER REED DATA BREACH:
Sensitive information on about 1,000 patients
>> at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals was
>> exposed in a security breach, sparking identity theft concerns and an
>> investigation by the Army. The chairman of the House Armed Services
>> Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO), said he wants to hear from the Army
>> about its investigation. Names, Social Security numbers, birth dates
and
>> other information were released, hospital officials said 2 JUN. The
>> computer file that was breached did not include information such as
>> medical records, or the diagnosis or prognosis for patients, they said.
>> Walter Reed officials declined to explain exactly how the information
was
>> compromised, pending an ongoing investigation by the hospital and the
>> Army. They would only say that the computer file was found on a
>> "non-government, non-secure computer network." The
medical center
>> learned
>> of the breach on 21 MAY from an outside data mining company, which
>> officials did not identify. They said the company was working for
another
>> client, found the file and contacted Walter Reed. The hospital said it
is
>> working to notify all of the people named in the data file. Letters or
>> e-mails were being sent out, beginning Monday. Officials declined to
say
>> how many patients were from Walter Reed and how many were from other
>> military hospitals.
>>
>> Walter Reed plans to offer free credit
protective services to
>> patients
>> whose information was revealed. The hospital also has set up a hot line
>> for people to call to see if their information was disclosed
>> (1-877-854-8542, ext. 9). The disclosure marked the latest in a series
of
>> breaches of government computer records. The federal government has
been
>> stung by a rash of data breaches in recent years.
>> . At the Agriculture Department, a hacker broke into the computer
system
>> in June 2006 and may have obtained names, Social Security numbers and
>> photos of 26,000 Washington-area employees and contractors.
>> . The Veterans Affairs Department acknowledged a massive breach in May
>> 2006, in which personal data on up to 26.5 million veterans was lost.
>> . At the Health and Human Services Department, personal information for
>> nearly 17,000 Medicare beneficiaries may have been compromised in early
>> 2006 when an insurance company employee called up the data through a
>> hotel
>> computer but didn't delete the file.
>> . At the Energy Department, Social Security numbers and other data for
>> about 1,500 people working for the National Nuclear Security
>> Administration may have been compromised when a hacker gained entry to
>> its
>> computer system in 2005.
>> [Source: Washington Post Jennifer C. Kerr article 2 Jun 08 ++]