VA Health Service Contractor Contributed to Recent Data Breach

VA ramps up enforcement of contractor data security 05/20/2010. The Veterans Affairs Department will step up enforcement of its contractors to make certain that they meet information security requirements in protecting veterans’ personal health data. VA includes a clause in its contracts requiring information security safeguards, including encryption and policies limiting who can access personal data. But that is no guarantee that vendors follow through, said VA senior IT and procurement officials at a hearing May 19 of the House Veterans Affair Committee subcommittee on oversight and investigations.  The hearing occurred in the aftermath of the April 22 theft in Texas of a laptop with the personal information of 644 veterans from the vehicle of an employee of a health services contractor. Government Health IT