Category Archives: congress

Equifax CEO called to testify before Congress about breach

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Equifax’s chief executive was formally invited Wednesday to testify Oct. 3 before Congress by top members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The invitation to Chairman and CEO Richard F. Smith comes less than a week after Equifax, a massive multinational credit reporting company, announced a data breach affecting up to 143 million Americans. “We look forward to hearing directly from Mr. Smith on this unprecedented breach that has raised serious questions about the security of consumers’ personal information,” full committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, said in a statement. “We know members on both sides of the aisle appreciate Mr. Smith’s willingness to come before the committee and explain how our constituents might be impacted and what steps are being taken to rectify this situation.” The committee has jurisdiction over the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, two of the agencies […]

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Capitol Hill comes for Equifax, demanding answers for massive breach

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U.S. lawmakers are demanding answers from consumer credit reporting firm Equifax after the company publicly disclosed a data breach last week where the sensitive personal information, including social security numbers, of upwards of 143 million Americans was stolen. Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called Monday upon Equifax to publicly determine when the company originally contacted law enforcement in relation to the breach, Reuters first reported. The two lawmakers, who are the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to Equifax CEO Rick Smith requesting additional information about the incident, including details about a trio of Equifax executives who sold company stock before the original breach announcement was made on Thursday. The letter is the latest in a series of strong public statements made by lawmakers calling for greater transparency from Equifax as it handles what some cybersecurity experts are already calling “one of the largest data […]

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Senator calls for review of energy infrastructure cybersecurity policy

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The top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is calling on two government agencies to review current policies that guide how America’s power grids and pipelines defend against cyberattacks. The request comes in the form of two letters demanding a review of U.S. energy infrastructure by the Government Accountability Office and Transportation Security Administration from Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The GAO is the investigative office of Congress, and the TSA has oversight over pipelines in addition to its core transportation responsibilities. The requests come amid reports that Russian hackers have organized phishing email campaigns targeted at U.S. energy providers within the private sector, including at least one nuclear plant. “There have been multiple attacks on all of our grids,” said Ret. Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney, who leads the nonpartisan American Security Project, during a committee hearing Tuesday. “And if we just put our heads in […]

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Telecom Lobbyists Downplayed ‘Theoretical’ Security Flaws in Mobile Data Backbone

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According to a confidential document obtained by Motherboard, wireless communications lobby group CTIA took issue with an in-depth report by the Department of Homeland Security on mobile device security, including flaws with the SS7 network. Continue reading Telecom Lobbyists Downplayed ‘Theoretical’ Security Flaws in Mobile Data Backbone→

Here are the cybersecurity amendments added to the House’s defense bill

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Lawmakers attached several cybersecurity-focused amendments to the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act in a last-minute effort Wednesday to change how the federal government defends itself from cyberattacks and how the military conducts offensive cyber-operations. The House was still working on the bill as of Thursday afternoon. The provisions added Wednesday joined an already lengthy list of items related to government cybersecurity initiatives. Because the NDAA is a policy bill and not a spending bill, congressional rules leave it more open to amendments. It’s common for lawmakers to use it as a vehicle for a wide range of legislative priorities. Most of the amendments added Wednesday have a military component, though. A total of five cybersecurity amendments were added Wednesday to the House’s version of the bill, which still faces a conference committee with the Senate version. Reps. Mike Johnson, R-La., Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., Gregg Harper, R-Miss., Robert Brady, D-Pa., Jose Correa, […]

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Former CIA Director calls on public to demand cybersecurity legislation

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Former CIA Director John Brennan is urging Americans to encourage federal lawmakers to push forward cybersecurity-focused legislation, regulations and other rules so that the U.S. is better prepared in cyberspace. “You all need to continue to put the pressure on your elected representatives in Congress to take this matter seriously,” Brennan said Wednesday during a speech at the Gartner Risk and Security Summit. “People frequently say it’s going to take a 9/11 in the cyber realm in order for us as a country to be able to come to terms and deal more effectively with cyber challenges.” “A lot of work needs to be done in the halls of Congress, as well as in the executive branch, in order to allow the government to deal with the challenges of the 21st century,” he said. Brennan, who served during the Obama administration and was responsible for standing up a new wing of the […]

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