Vet's free credit monitoring delayed--price tag to rise to $26 billion?
Update 6/26 6:20pm PT: In respone to criticism from veterans groups, the VA just announced that “An individual who chooses to sign up for the credit monitoring service, including the insurance, will not be asked or required to relinquish any legal claim that he or she might have against VA in order to receive the credit monitoring and insurance that VA will offer.”
Original post 6/25 follows:
In a stunning turn of events, Hope Yen of the AP reports that a judge has barred the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) from publicizing its offer of free credit monitoring. Now, the price tag for mor eextensive credit protection and damages might rise to over $26 billion. Last week the VA had announced free credit monitoring for a year for all effected by the May 3rd data theft. The VA has already spent over $14 million just notifying veterans and nearly a quarter million dollars a day on a call center.
A federal judge temporarily has barred the government from publicizing its free credit monitoring offer to veterans whose personal data was stolen and wants to see if they might get a better federal offer.
Lawyers who have filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the 26.5 million veterans and active-duty troops affected contend that accepting the government's offer could jeopardize their chance of winning more money in the privacy suit.
U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman in Kentucky scheduled a hearing this Friday to determine whether the Veterans Affairs Department should revise its offer. His order on the credit monitoring was issued late last Friday.
The suit seeks free monitoring and other credit protection for an indefinite period as well as $1,000 in damages for each person - or up to $26.5 billion total - in what has become one of the nation's largest information security breaches.
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