While encryption and other security technology can help, slipshod
> handling of data and equipment, poor training and the slow moving
> government bureaucracy are seen as the main causes of vulnerability.
This is by no means a "government" problem. The private industry is just as bad and carries more sensitive personal information than the government does. A banker who takes home then loses a laptop with customer account information is almost giving away cash since all sorts of personal data useful to thieves is being shared.
Of more concern apparently not being addressed by anyone is the risk of a disgruntled employee making secret copies of sensitive data and then selling it on the black market.
Of course nobody is addressing the issue of why this data is now so powerful in the first place. Our financial systems are as good as screen doors on a submarine.