Horrible - TriCare refuses to provide credit monitoring to the victims of its data breach

TriCare is a healthcare program that provides healthcare coverage to uniformed service members, retirees and their families.  Last month, a number of TriCare's computer backup tapes were stolen from the vehicle of an employee of Science Applications International Corp.  The tapes contained the personal information (including Social Security numbers) and health information of 4.9 million beneficiaries.

Typically, companies that allow such massive data breaches to occur will offer free credit monitoring services to the victims of its negligence.  But not TriCare.  Its refusing to do the right thing.

According to TriCare, it was not offering credit monitoring services because "retrieving the data on the tapes would require knowledge of and access to specific hardware and software and knowledge of the system and data structure."  Hog wash.  Does TriCare not realize what the technologically savvy can do with computers these days?  It wouldn't take a moderately skilled hacker any time at all to successfully access the information on those tapes.

TriCare, get your head out of the sand and offer the credit monitoring service to your victims.  Its not much, but its at least something.