# You fucking dimwits. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 24, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986 "2006-05-24T00:23:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/1 "2006-05-24T00:23:25Z")
You absolutely [stupid motherfuckers](http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/23/vets.data/index.html). You’ve possibly compromised 23 million vets with your stupid actions and complete lack of security, and have now alerted whomever stole the information as to its value. > [@](#): > > “We have no reason to believe at this time that the identity of these veterans have been compromised,” he said. “But we feel an obligation to alert veterans so that they can take the appropriate steps to protect this information.” Appropriate steps? What appropriate steps? I can’t change my SSN, which is kind of an important detail, doncha think? Am I supposed to liquidate all of my retirement and investment accounts, cancel my credit cards and close my bank accounts? What the motherfucking pluperfect steaming hell were you morons thinking! > [@](#): > > Nicholson vowed to take steps to ensure such a mistake is not repeated, including mandatory security training in the next month for all employees with access to private information. A little fucking late. All records from 1975 to present were on that drive, so a repeat isn’t really necessary, now is it. Jesus on a fucking baguette. If this information isn’t recovered, it’s a potential disaster for all vets. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/2 "2006-05-24T00:51:15Z")
Oh I don’t know. In basic training they stenciled our social security numbers on our duffel bags, which we then carried through crowded airports. When we left the service, they advised us to register our DD214s at our local courthouses. It’s not like they can fix any of that retroactively, either. ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/3 "2006-05-24T01:51:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Appropriate steps? What appropriate steps? I can’t change my SSN, which is kind of an important detail, doncha think? Am I supposed to liquidate all of my retirement and investment accounts, cancel my credit cards and close my bank accounts? What the motherfucking pluperfect steaming hell were you morons thinking! > [@](#): > > Sen. Larry Craig, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said Monday that all veterans should be “vigilant” in monitoring their financial information for suspicious activity. Unless you have information that I don’t, from what I can tell from this news report they’re doing pretty much all they can about it. The data definitely shouldn’t have been taken home from work, and should have been encrypted somehow, but that’s really the analyst’s fault. From what I can tell from the news article (which isn’t much), they seem to be handling the situation fairly. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/4 "2006-05-24T02:00:18Z")
A while back a computer was stolen from Papa Tiger’s company that contained a lot of employee data. Even though they weren’t sure he was one of the people whose information was stolen, the company provided him as well as everyone else who might have been involved with a free year’s monitoring of their credit bureau records. He gets immediate notification of anything new, and a monthly update of all activity. He’s continued it since that point since it just seems prudent to do so. It’s not really that hard to keep half an eye on your financial records. Of course, the idiot who took this info home deserves to receive some special reward. Maybe send him on a circuit tour of American Legion and VFW halls around the nation? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/5 "2006-05-24T02:06:22Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I can’t change my SSN. Actually, yes you can in most cases if you’ve been a victim of ID theft. See [here](http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10064.html#getting). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/6 "2006-05-24T14:26:44Z")
> [@PetW](#): > > Unless you have information that I don’t, from what I can tell from this news report they’re doing pretty much all they can about it. The data definitely shouldn’t have been taken home from work, and should have been encrypted somehow, but that’s really the analyst’s fault. From what I can tell from the news article (which isn’t much), they seem to be handling the situation fairly. Well, thank god they’re doing everything they can do _after_ the fact. That sure fixes everything in my book. But then they’re probably not the people who risk losing a significant chunk of their money and having their credit ratings destroyed. As long as the blame can be allocated after the deed is done (sorta like Katrina, no?), then everything will be just peachy. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/7 "2006-05-24T15:26:06Z")
Just wait till all those SS numbers find their way to NIGERIA! The SS admin will be send billions to retired vets in Africa! not to mention the sale of these numbers to illegal immigrants…does the SSA check if somebody listed as age 76 starts working again? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/8 "2006-05-24T15:36:11Z")
What I can’t understand is why banks and credit card companies use SSNs in such stupid ways. “Oh, you say you’re Lemur866. OK, smart guy, what’s your SSN? You know your SSN? Well, that proves you’re you!” The use of SSNs as passwords is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen. An SSN is not a password, it is a user ID. It is public information. The fact that someone could rob me just by knowing my SSN leaves me shaking with rage. Not at the thief, but at the company that will hand over money to someone who knows my SSN. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/9 "2006-05-24T15:42:59Z")
I could certainly understand if they’d decided to sit on the story until a more thorough investigation of the actual theft was complete. I assume they’re weighing the vets right to know and to begin protecting themselves against altering the thieves and/or anyone they hock the laptop to as to the data’s actual value. Best case would have been to recover the data and _then_ ream the agency/employee responsible for it’s loss. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/10 "2006-05-24T15:44:13Z")
Make that “alerting” the theives, not “altering” them… I think. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/11 "2006-05-24T16:58:16Z")
but they’re still weighing the vets, right? 'Cause I want to make sure I don’t get left behind on this one. 😉 How can the offical word be that there is no belief that this wasn’t all deliberate on the part of the guy who took the data home? Unless he’s taking this stuff out of the office every night and leaving it on the back seat of his Pontiac, why shouldn’t I believe that he took it just so it can get “stolen”? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/12 "2006-05-24T17:11:46Z")
I just want to say that this sounds like it might be the basis for the first class-action lawsuit filed against a single individual. All of us vets are supposed to be monitoring our credit reports, now, because of this dimwit. Okay, AIUI, there are three credit reporting companies/bureaus and getting a credit report is a nominal $15 fee per company. So, that’s $45 per veteran… times 26 million vets affected… This yahoo might want to sign up with the Guard, and request being posted to Iraq. He’ll be safer there. (BTW, any else notice how the idiot who allowed this all to happen by taking the data home **still** hasn’t been ID’d? Sure sounds to **me** like he views privacy and personal information as something important to safeguard. When it’s his own, that is.) ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/13 "2006-05-24T17:13:42Z")
I thought we were now entitled to a free credit report? I know I took advantage of some new rules in effect last year and did so. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/14 "2006-05-24T17:15:34Z")
That’s why I listed the nominal cost: If you’ve taken advantage of that already, as a regular precaution, do you skip your credit report because you’ve already used your ‘free’ one? ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/15 "2006-05-24T17:28:12Z")
You can actually get a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies. So, if you stagger them out you can get three reports a year. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/16 "2006-05-24T17:29:52Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Make that “alerting” the theives, not “altering” them… I think. Oh, I’m getting the impression that a lot of people will be planning to _alter_ the idiot responsible. 🙂 Not in a good way. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/17 "2006-05-25T00:36:25Z")
[Bush backs VA chief after data breach](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060524/ap_on_go_pr_wh/vets26_million_ids_11) > [@](#): > > White House press secretary Tony Snow said Bush had **“full faith and confidence”** in Nicholson. Snow originally had declined to issue a statement of support in the president’s name but then said he wanted to clarify his remarks. ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/18 "2006-05-25T01:28:16Z")
> [@Sean Factotum](#): > > Unless he’s taking this stuff out of the office every night and leaving it on the back seat of his Pontiac, why shouldn’t I believe that he took it just so it can get “stolen”? Occam’s Razor? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/19 "2006-05-25T01:47:14Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Make that “alerting” the theives, not “altering” them… I think. I daresay that some vets would be glad to “alter” the thief with a dull entrenching tool. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986/20 "2006-05-25T02:41:59Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > [Bush backs VA chief after data breach](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060524/ap_on_go_pr_wh/vets26_million_ids_11) “Heckuva job, Nicky.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-fucking-dimwits/357986.md?page=2)