[Dataloss] VA laptop sold from back of truck

[lyger]

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2006/07/what_happened_t.html#posts

Posted: Monday, July 3 at 01:04 pm CT by Bob Sullivan

We have a few more details on what happened to the nation's most famous 
runaway laptop computer during those mysterious two months it was missing, 
courtesy of NBC's Pete Williams. We're talking about the computer and hard 
drive that were stolen from a Department of Veterans Affairs employee in 
May, an incident that made headlines because the hardware contained 
private information on 26.5 million veterans and current GIs. Last week, 
VA chief Jim Nicholson announced in dramatic fashion that the prodigal 
computer had been found, but details about the return were sparing.

NBC's Williams has been able to fill in some of the blanks after talking 
to law enforcement officials investigating the incident.

Both the laptop and hard drive ended up for sale at a black market just 
north of Washington D.C., near a subway station outside the Beltway near 
Wheaton. We're talking about the kind of market that is literally run out 
of the back of a truck, one official said. Fortunately, a buyer purchased 
both components at this black market, keeping the missing hardware 
together.

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