WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 20, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema spoke at today’s Financial Institutions & Consumer Credit Subcommittee hearing about the evolving threat of cyber-attacks and increasing efforts to protect Arizona businesses and consumers.
At the hearing entitled “Protecting Critical Infrastructure: How the Financial Sector Addresses Cyber Threats,” experts from the financial services industry discussed how the financial sector protects itself and responds to cyber threats.
Thank you Chairman.
When hackers stole the credit card information of Susan, one of my constituents from Chandler, Arizona, she initially didn’t notice an unauthorized ten dollar donation to a small charity.
The next month, she did notice the several hundred dollars in police uniforms that a man in London had purchased using her card. That’s when she called the FBI.
Unfortunately, this story is all too common. Last year alone, according to Verizon’s 2015 Data Breach Investigations Report, there were more than 79,000 security incidents reported and more than 2,000 confirmed data breaches.
These breaches have exposed both the personally identifiable information, as well as sensitive financial information, of millions of consumers.
Securing the financial services sector requires us to continue to strengthen security practices and information-sharing infrastructure.
Educating consumers and financial sector participants is also crucial if these efforts are to be successful.
The evolving nature of cyber threats calls for a vigorous and dynamic response. I look forward to hearing more from our witnesses today about:
How industry is developing safety protocols that keep pace with technological innovation; and
How educating consumers and financial sector participants will help better protect consumers like my constituent Susan.
I yield my time.
Contact: Macey Matthews
Phone: 202-225-9888
Email: macey.matthews (at) mail.house (dot) gov
