26 million military veterans at risk for identity theft

Good guys just can't seem to catch a break today! First there was the announcement of blood donor records being stolen from the Red Cross, now it has been reported that 26 million veterans have had their information stolen too. Are firemen, preschool teachers, Peace Corps volunteers and librarians next?

In this latest identity theft case, a laptop from the Veterans Affairs Department was stolen from an employees home. This computer contained sensitive records, including Social Security numbers, on all veterans who were discharged since 1975 and some of their spouses.  Concerned veterans can learn more about the crime online here. It is not clear if the data was encrypted or password protected in anyway. The article ominously mentions that the employee "did not follow procedures to safeguard the data."

In most data theft cases, only 2% of the people who had their information stolen will face actual identity theft crimes.  In this case, 2% equals a whopping 520,000 veterans.

Are you a veteran who may be impacted by this data theft crime? What do you think about these recent data theft incidents? What group of "good people" do you think will be impacted next? Share your feedback in the comments section below.