Investigators from the Department of Veterans Affairs discovered that at least a half dozen VA employees illegally accessed the medical records of vice presidential candidates Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The leadership of the agency has given evidence to federal prosecutors regarding the actions of the employees and also informed the Trump/Vance/Harris/Walz campaign about the issue.
According to law enforcement officials the office of VA Inspector General Michael Missal has provided evidence to federal prosecutors about the actions of several health system employees, including a doctor and a contractor, who spent extended periods looking at medical records for candidates. This raised investigators’ suspicions as to their motives.
The contractor and physician, like the rest, used their VA computers primarily from their government offices to access the records.
Investigators are attempting to determine if Walz’s or Vance’s health records were shared due to the breach. Law enforcement officials have said that they are investigating the motives of those individuals who accessed the information. Investigators were told by some employees that they wanted to view Walz’s and Vance’s medical records because both nominees’ military service had been scrutinized during the presidential election. These are the first vets to be on both vice presidential tickets since 1996 when Al Gore was running for president and Jack Kemp for the Republican Party.
Officials said that VA employees had no access to disability compensation records. These records are more secure than health records.
In an email, VA Press Secretary Terrence Haines said that any attempt by VA staff to improperly access Veteran’s records is unacceptable and won’t be tolerated.
Both vice presidential candidates served in the military. Vance was in the Marine Corps for four years while Walz served as a National Guard member for 24 years.
The Post reports that the breaches occurred between July and August and were found during a security audit of accounts with high-profile health information.
Missal’s Office found that VA physicians and other medical staff in the VA health system, which has close to 400,000 employees and more than 9,000,000 registered veterans can log in relatively easily. This policy is designed to provide quick access to doctors within and outside the VA during an emergency. This is in contrast to the benefits division which pays monthly disability compensation to over 5 million veterans and restricts access to records for a few employees.
Even if they are not accused of a crime, employees could face disciplinary action within their agency. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is violated when an individual’s medical information is viewed without their consent or knowledge.
The prosecutors are looking at several factors before deciding whether to file charges. These include how long the defendants viewed files and what their intentions were. According to The Post, these breaches occur frequently because the healthcare industry is increasingly exposed to sophisticated cyberattacks.
Cyberattacks on healthcare providers in the United States are up 53 percent in the last three years. Large data breaches have increased by 93 percent from 2020 to 2022.
We will keep you updated.
