The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Health Administration is taking action to protect veterans’ personal information following a recent privacy breach.
VA was notified Oct. 31 of a data incident involving VHA files from the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg.
The medical center became aware correspondence inadvertently disclosed the full Social Security number of the receiving veteran; subsequently, a determination was made a data breach occurred. Their information was involved in the unintentional disclosure of the potential risk to their personal information.
To date, there is no indication any information was targeted or misused. In the meantime, LAJVAMC is notifying the 736 affected veterans. VA has mailed notification letters to all affected veterans. The department is also offering complimentary access to credit monitoring services for veterans who may have had their full social security number compromised in the disclosure. Information and enrollment instructions for the services provided by ID Experts were included in the credit monitoring letters mailed to those impacted.
To prevent future incidents, the LAJVAMC formed a workgroup to investigate mailing processes throughout the facility and identify risks in those processes. With risks identified, control measures will be implemented and monitored to prevent reoccurrence.
Veterans receiving care from LAJVAMC who have questions about their personal data should follow the instructions in the letter. Contact the privacy officers at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center at 304-623-3461, Ext. 3292 or 2329 (between 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday) with questions or concerns regarding whether a veteran’s personal information may have been involved.
