September 30, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) Just a few days after holding a hearing concerning the nomination of Robert "Bob" Howard, the Senate voted early Saturday morning to confirm him to be the nation's new Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

"Bob Howard is an outstanding nominee and was very impressive in his confirmation hearing. He now has the huge task of making VA's computer system the gold standard in cyber-safety," said U.S. Senator Larry Craig, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Howard has been the acting Assistant Secretary since May. (To see additional photos from his confirmation hearing, click on: 2006 - Sept 26 - Maj. Gen. Bob Howard nomination)

During the confirmation hearing, Howard told members of the Committee that nearly 15,000 of the Veterans Affairs Department's laptops have now been encrypted.

That action is part of more than 300 tasks his office has undertaken to strengthen VA's information security since the theft of two VA computers earlier this year. Those computers have since been recovered and analysis by forensic experts with the FBI indicate that the personal data on millions of veterans was not breeched.

Under intense questioning from Chairman Craig during his confirmation hearing, Howard told the committee that technology is not the final solution to computer security.

"Quite frankly, the best way to achieve 100 percent security is to make sure every single employee understands their responsibility. This is a people issue. We can go nuts with technical capabilities, but the bottom line is the people involved. There is a heightened awareness at the VA, no doubt about it," Howard said Tuesday.

Prior to his position with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Howard spent 33 years in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of Major General. He then spent nine years in the private sector with the Cubic Corporation, where he served as a Vice President and General Manager of the Analysis and Learning Technologies Division.

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