Lost VA BlackBerrys Redux
By
Bob Brewin
I think tracking lost Veterans Affairs Department BlackBerry gadgets may become a regular feature here, with <a href=http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2010/08/va_data_breaches_go_live.php?oref=latest_posts>reports on Wednesday</a> and in <a href=http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2010/06/wheres_your_blackberry.php>June</a> -- and, here now, Thursday's roundup of the number of the gizmos lost so far this year by VA employees.
I think tracking lost Veterans Affairs Department BlackBerry gadgets may become a regular feature here, with reports on Wednesday and in June -- and, here now, Thursday's roundup of the number of the gizmos lost so far this year by VA employees.
Veterans Chief Information Officer Roger Baker told me on Thursday that as of June 30, 129 VA BlackBerrys have gone astray compared with 189 in all of 2009. Since that works out to a monthly Berry loss rate of 21.5 in 2010 versus a monthly loss rate of 15.75 in 2009, VA is well on its way to losing more of the gadgets this year than last.
But Baker said I need to apply another statistic: VA has about 35,000 BlackBerrys in use, increasing at a rate of more than 20 percent a year. Simply put: More BlackBerrys mean more are lost. "My calculation [using the 2009 number] says that's about half a percent lost annually," Baker said.
Oh well, I guess it's better (and cheaper) than losing MRI scanners at that rate.
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