More Info On The E-Benenfits Vet Information Leak

[manning01]

http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/threatwatch/2014/01/software-vulnerability-accidentally-leaked/722/

VA hacked again -- Software upgrade bares beneficiary medical and financial data Accidentally leaked credentials; Software vulnerability

Was Navy veteran Sylvester Woodland hitting the refresh button incorrectly on the Veteran Affairs' E-Benefits website Wednesday night? “It gave me a different person's name, each and every time I came back," he told ABC. Woodland said he called the Defense Department, the VA, and North Carolina Democrat Sen. Kay Hagan's office, but he didn't get any response until Thursday morning. Then, the website went down and an email arrived from Defense requesting that he send digital images of the few pages he printed out. "Already I see the blame game going. It's the VA. No, it's the DOD. It's going to bounce back and forth, but can you prove it's an isolated incident?" Woodland said. He had signed on to the system to track down his own history for a bank loan. Instead, windows kept popping up displaying other veterans' health and financial information. "When you click on these hyperlinks here, it takes you to the bank account, the direct deposit, bank account, last four, what bank is it for," Woodland said. "I'll bet he has no idea that I'm sitting here in my house with his information." The VA issued a statement to ABC11 Friday:

“The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) takes seriously our obligation to properly safeguard personal information. Wednesday evening, during a process to improve software supporting the joint VA and Department of Defense benefits web portal eBenefits, VA discovered a software defect. During that limited timeframe, some Veterans and Service members who had registered and logged into eBenefits were able to see a combination of their own information as well as data from other eBenefits users. VA took immediate action upon discovering the software defect and shut the eBenefits system down in order to limit any problems. VA is conducting a full review to be certain the underlying technological issues have been resolved before the system is returned to operation. VA's independent Data Breach Core Team (DBCT) is reviewing this issue and believes a relatively limited number of Veterans have been affected. Once the DBCT determines the number of users impacted, their identities and other pertinent facts, VA will take the appropriate response, which may include free credit monitoring for the affected individuals, consistent with VA's standard practice.”

[shakeyswife]

I really thought this was suppose to be a helpful part of the site of hadit.com and not intended for a pissing contest.

Just saying............

[AmicusBrief]

Personally, I'm beginning to think some of the folks here need to have 297.9 added to their diagnosis codes.

[Loose Cannon]

Personally, I'm beginning to think some of the folks here need to have 297.9 added to their diagnosis codes.

Paranoid, huh? Your right to your personal opinions cease to exist when you slander other members here at Hadit. I simply asked you a question. You respond by " personally diagnosing me as paranoid." Guess you think you're a doctor now.

You have much to learn about how the VA is treating this country's veterans. The proof is written about by many right here at Hadit...only you continue to drink the cool-aid the VA puts out there. I pity you AB.

So congrats on a pissing contest victory since you obviously won't let the issue go quietly. Your ego needs it more than mine.

Out of respect for other members I will no longer reply to your far-out opinions and disregard of facts. Peace.

LC

[Navy04]

Just another way for the Govt to control us!

[Loose Cannon]

The American Legion is challenging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take whatever measures are necessary to protect veterans personal information after a recent software defect on its eBenefits website exposed the online accounts of about 5,000 veterans to unauthorized users.

American Legion National Commander Daniel M. Dellinger wonders why such data breaches continue to plague the department.

"We’ve seen VA expose sensitive information about veterans before," Dellinger said. "Now it has happened with the relatively new eBenefits website. How can VA expect our veterans to file for benefits online when they may be risking identity theft by doing so?"

The defective software allowed veterans and servicemembers logged onto eBenefits to view account information of other users. After discovering the problem, VA shut down the system and switched over to an earlier version of the software.

VA’s Data Breach Core Team (DBCT) is reviewing the eBenefits failure. According to a statement issued by VA, once the DBCT determines the individual veterans affected, "VA will take the appropriate response, which may include free credit monitoring for the affected individuals, consistent with VA’s standard practice."

"There should be no ‘may’ in that statement," Dellinger said. "We want VA to guarantee credit monitoring services for every individual whose personal information may have been breached. That is the least VA can do to atone for its latest compromise of data."

Dellinger credited VA for informing the public about the eBenefits failure and for taking immediate action to minimize the damage. "But these data breaches need to stop," he said. "VA can’t continue to expose our veterans to identity theft. VA needs to take care of defective software before rolling out any online system."

Continue to be careful folks!

LC

[AmicusBrief]

Paranoid, huh? Your right to your personal opinions cease to exist when you slander other members here at Hadit. I simply asked you a question. You respond by " personally diagnosing me as paranoid." Guess you think you're a doctor now.

You have much to learn about how the VA is treating this country's veterans. The proof is written about by many right here at Hadit...only you continue to drink the cool-aid the VA puts out there. I pity you AB.

So congrats on a pissing contest victory since you obviously won't let the issue go quietly. Your ego needs it more than mine.

Out of respect for other members I will no longer reply to your far-out opinions and disregard of facts. Peace.

LC

Dang! My plan for world domination as a evil VA super spy has been foiled again.