Now we can all be Will Charlton

The VA has reported that a massive theft of veterans' personal information has occured. From the New York Times story:

Personal electronic data on up to 26.5 million military veterans, including their Social Security numbers and birth dates, was stolen from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee who had taken the information without authorization, the agency said today.

The department said there was no evidence that any data had been used illegally, and that whoever stole it during a burglary of the employee's home might be unaware of the nature of the information or how to use it. The stolen data does not include any health records or financial information, the agency said.

If they were unaware of the nature of the information before, they sure won't be now.