Noteboom The Law Firm

Department of Veterans Affairs Distributes Faulty ID Cards to Veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued 157,000 new "personal identification credentials" that may be faulty, according to an article in Federal Computer Week. The direct threat presented by the faulty identification to veterans and veterans with disabilities is unknown as it relates to their interaction with the VA.

The VA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a recent report on the issue detailing how the personal ID cards compromise the "ability to authenticate the identity of the individuals who received the credentials." Until the mistakes are fixed, the OIG recommended the VA stop putting out new ID credentials altogether.

The fault lies with the VA's Enrollment Center and its lack of proper procedures and failure to control. Once the OIG report was issued, the VA stated they took "immediate action to mitigate" the potential problems the report highlighted, so as to prevent another security breach. As it stands, the veteran ID cards cannot be used at any government station or office until their deficiencies are corrected.

Up to 147,000 of those IDs could've been issued without ever verifying whether the applicants were recognized, terrorists, had proper identification, etc. Up to 5,100 IDs could've been issued without the applicant's background being verified, and another 5,600 could've been issued that "circumvented separation of duty control" protocols.

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.