Source: Theft of vets' data kept secret for 19 days

Vets' data theft kept secret for 19 days

Social Security numbers of 26 million-plus veterans stolen

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Authorities waited almost three weeks to alert the public that personal data on more than 26 million U.S. veterans had fallen into the hands of thieves, a government source said Tuesday.

The data were on a laptop and external drive stolen May 3 in an apparent random burglary from the Montgomery County, Maryland, home of a Department of Veterans Affairs computer analyst, said the government source, who has been briefed on the issue.

The government did not immediately announce the theft because officials had hoped to catch the culprits and did not want to tip them off about what they had stolen for fear they would sell it, the government source said.

On Monday, officials abandoned that plan and alerted the public.

The computer disk contained the names, Social Security numbers and birth dates of every living veteran from 1975 to the present, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said Monday.
Nicholson told reporters that the FBI and the department's inspector general are investigating the matter.

Nicholson and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said there was no indication that the information has been misused.

The missing data do not include health records or financial information, the department said. They do include some disability ratings and data on some veterans' spouses. (Watch the implications of the security breach -- 2:23) >>>cont

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