PENNSYLVANIA PHILADELPHIA AREA COMPANY TO ASSESS VA COMPUTER SECURITY Phila.-area company to assess VA computer security - Philadelphia Business Journal:

Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - 10:53 AM EST

Phila.-area company to assess VA computer security

Data Systems Analysts Inc. said Wednesday it has received a contract to assess the security of the Department of Veterans Affairs' computer systems.

The Trevose, Pa.-based company will receive $3.4 million in the first year, during which it will visit more than 600 Veterans Affairs sites. The contract has two option years, during which DSA would perform maintenance work.

STG Inc. of Reston, Va.; ASG Inc. of Cary, N.C.; and Avalon Technology of Arlington, Va., will work with DSA on the contract.

The security of the VA's computer systems was under scrutiny in summer 2006 when a desktop computer containing information on thousands of patients from two VA medical centers in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh went missing. Information technology company Unisys (NYSE:UIS) of Blue Bell, Pa., used the desktop in conjunction with its work as a subcontractor on the VA's collection-management system. The government has said it does not appear that whoever took the computer did so to mine information on the veterans.