The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) U.S. recently revealed that hackers attacked systems and stole personal information from about 46,000 war veterans. As we now learn, the breach also affected community care providers who supplement the agency's medical program.
It is said that approximately 17,000 community care providers who provide services to veterans were affected by the recent breach . All those affected have been notified of the breach.
“Based on the information available, it appears that this incident was carried out by individuals who were able to find weaknesses in the way the Department of Veterans Affairs relates to health care providers,” the senators said in a letter to the VA. They also said that the affected provider data relates to veterans’ contracts and payments.
The VA responded to the senators' statements:
“There were 13 community care providers affected by this incident, not 17,000. VA will reimburse those providers who had trouble getting paid,” Christina Noel, a spokeswoman for the department, said in an email to the Federal News Network. She did not provide further details to explain the huge discrepancy between the number provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the number reported by the senators.
As we've already reported, the breach affected Social Security numbers and other personal data of 46,000 veterans, but senators said that bank account information of community care providers was also exposed.
The department launched an investigation but did not focus on the specific system that was breached. According to the senators’ letter, the “customer engagement portal” was the site that was breached. The portal was one of 85 different systems managed by the VA’s Financial Services Center.
The Financial Services Center provides services to the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies.
The senators asked various questions to the Department regarding the incident. One of the questions was what measures have been taken to prevent such an issue from happening again.
The senators support the investigation being conducted but at the same time question the Ministry, as other similar incidents have taken place in the past and the necessary actions were obviously not taken.
The vulnerability exploited by hackers is a problem that has existed for years at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The information provided to Congress about this incident raises countless questions. There is doubt about the VA's ability to address the current incident and protect veterans' data.
According to the senators, officials from the VA's Office of Information and Technology said the breach was the responsibility of the department's Financial Services Center.
“This recent data is unacceptable,” the senators wrote. “It also demonstrates that the Department has not taken the necessary steps to ensure oversight and security of the vast amounts of financial, health, and other personal information it collects and processes to perform its critical services for America’s veterans. Incidents like these impact the lives of veterans as well as those who work with the VA. It is imperative that action be taken to address this current incident and to develop a strategy to prevent such problems from occurring in the future.”
On the other hand, the Ministry's spokesperson said that steady progress has been made in improving . cybersecurityThe Ministry has done many things to strengthen its security.
