Tuesday, June 06, 2006

VA Security Breach Spawns Class Action

The New York Times reports that five veterans' groups including the Vietnam Veterans of America have filed a class action against Veterans Affair Secretary Nicholson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The veterans' lawsuit seeks the following relief:
  • A declaratory judgment that the VA’s loss of these records violated and continues to violate both the Privacy and Administrative Procedure Acts.
  • A court order that the VA disclose the exact nature of its compromised records system and to individually inform each veteran of every record it maintains on him/her.
  • An injunction preventing the VA from altering any data storage system and prohibiting any further use of these data until a court-appointed panel of experts determines how best to implement safeguards to prevent any further breaches.
  • A judgment awarding $1,000 to each veteran who can show that he/she has been harmed by the VA’s violation of the Privacy Act.

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