The theft of private information on 26 million veterans is pretty shocking. Everybody is freaked out and everybody wants something done. The trouble is, the cows have left the barn, the cat is out of the bag, and so on. In other words, there is not much hope that anything can be done about this particular case, other than the hope that the criminals don't know what they have.

What can be done going forward is serious and strict regulation of consumer data. Instead, we have a system where private consumer data is a commodity, freely and legally traded in the open market. We also have giant holes in the security that is supposed to protect this data. This latest case is Exhibit A. It wasn't even a sophisticated, high-tech hack and crack job. It was just a simple burglary.

And what are the odds? This is either one of the most freakish statistical anomalies in history, or there are millions of computers in private homes across America containing sensitive data on millions of Americans, thus making it a statistical probability that one would eventually get stolen.

(UPDATE: Actually it happens often enough, so I guess there is just too much sensitive data floating around unsecured.)

The investigation ought to be interesting.

The VA says they are working with the Justice Department and everybody under the sun to review security policies and prevent future breaches. The trouble is, there was already a policy in place. Employees weren't supposed to take sensitive data home with them. All the policies in the world won't protect your data unless you vigorously enforce them.

And speaking of consumer protections and what Congress should be doing about identity theft, here's an interesting item.