Investigators with VA’s Inspector General have ascertained that data on the computer hard drive missing from a Birmingham, Ala., VA facility may include veterans information on about 535,000 individuals. That’s not all, though. It also could contain data—some of it sensitive—on 1.3 million living and deceased doctors not employed by the VA. Most of the physician information is in the public domain, and is used by the VA to analyze and improve its health care services, according to a VA release. VA officials plan to begin notifications to affected individuals next week, offering free credit monitoring for one year.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
