Veterans groups sue over data theft
By HOPE YEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- A coalition of veterans' groups charged in a lawsuit Tuesday that their privacy rights were violated after thieves stole personal data on 26.5 million military personnel from a Veterans Affairs employee.
The class-action lawsuit against the federal government, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, is the second suit since the VA disclosed the May 3 burglary two weeks ago.
It demands that the VA fully disclose which military personnel are affected by the data theft and seeks $1,000 in damages to each person - up to $26.5 billion total. The veterans are also asking for a court order barring VA employees from using sensitive data until independent experts determine proper safeguards.
"VA arrogantly compounded its disregard for veterans' privacy rights by recklessly failing to make even the most rudimentary effort to safeguard this trove of the personally identifiable information from unauthorized disclosure," the complaint states.
A spokesman for the VA did not have an immediate comment Tuesday.
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