Lance, House GOP Scrutinize Data Breaches

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07), who serves as the Vice Chairman of the House Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee, is participating in a hearing on data breaches this morning in the consumer context. Private sector retail hacking incidents (Target, etc.) and the ongoing problems with the Obamacare website have brought these important issues to the nation’s attention. It’s a safety/security concern and a drain on the economy, too.

Follow along:

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Text of Rep. Lance’s opening remarks are below the fold:

Thank you Mr. Chairman. I would like to take the time to welcome our distinguished panel.

The issue of data security has been prominent in public debate dating back to at least 2005, when 160,000 records were acquired by hackers in the ChoicePoint data breach.. Over the last eight years, 660 million records have been made public through various data breaches. Data breaches occur not just in a commercial setting, but also at hospitals, educational institutions, banks and insurance companies. There is no doubt that every American could be at risk of a data breach.

Since our last data security hearing in July, we have learned of several additional data breach incidents that occurred in 2013. Data breach incidents at Target, Niemen Marcus, and Michael’s are recent reminders of the dangers data breaches present to our economy.

In our hearing last July this Subcommittee examined the issue of data breach notification; namely what to do when data security has been compromised. While that issue is still of paramount concern, equal if not more attention should be given to how to prevent data breaches from occurring in the first place. Major credit card carriers have created a global data security standard for businesses that accept payment cards: called the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. I look forward to examining that best practices standard today.

Since the ChoicePoint data breach in 2005, technology has evolved considerably. While data hackers’ tactics have also evolved, so has the potential to provide greater security for Americans at risk of a data breach. I am pleased to have before us today a distinguished panel from the public and private sector with expertise and personal experience in these issues, and I look forward to examining the issues before us today.

Matt Rooney
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MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.