WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs says personal information for more than 2,200 veterans, including Social Security numbers, was posted on Ancestry.com after it mistakenly released the data through the Freedom of Information Act.
The department said Friday there is no indication the information was misused, but it is still notifying all potentially affected veterans and is offering free credit monitoring. The department also said that Ancestry.com removed the information as soon as the VA alerted it to the department's mistake.
While the VA was required to release the requested records under the Freedom of Information Act, somehow information about living veterans was released as part of a database about deceased veterans. The department said it is investigating how the mistake happened.
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