Subcommittee Holds Virtual Hearing on Risks Posed to American Financial System by Cybercrime
Washington,
June 16, 2020 -
Today, the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy held a virtual hearing on the increased threat of coronavirus-fueled cyberattacks against our financial institutions and vulnerable Americans.
“Cybersecurity and the need for strong cyber protocols has long been a topic of discussion in this Committee, and the virus has only underscored the need and showcased the vulnerabilities that we have in certain aspects of our financial ecosystem. According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, the number of cybersecurity complaints to the IC3 in the last four months has spiked from typically 1,000 daily before the pandemic, to as many as 4,000 incidents a day. Furthermore, a survey conducted last month by VMware Carbon Black, one of our witnesses today, found that 80% of surveyed banks reported a year-on-year increase in cyberattacks within the financial services sector. This year those attacks have surged 238% from February to April.
“As many businesses and financial institutions are adapting to new teleworking policies and the challenges that come from working remotely, it’s imperative that they have the right infrastructure in place to handle new security protocols and sensitivities. Just last week the FBI announced that bad actors were seeking to exploit customers through mobile banking and recommended that consumers take proper precautions.
“The U.S. has been the target of cyberattacks from nation-states and non-state actors for over 20 years, but in the months of outbreak of the virus in the United States, cyber espionage from China, Russia, and Iran has spiked. Cyberthreat actors are taking advantage of this crisis to attempt to undermine the U.S. Government, and probe our systems in the private sector and public sector for weakness, and stoke fear, and division, and confusion here at home. According to the FBI, China has been observed attempting to identify and illicitly obtain valuable IP (intellectual property), and public health data related to vaccine treatments and testing from our networks throughout our country. We cannot allow the actions of a few bad actors and foreign threats to inhibit our financial institutions,” said Subcommittee Ranking Member French Hill (AR-02) in his opening remarks.
Witness List:
- Mr. Tom Kellermann, Head of Cybersecurity Strategy, VMware
- Mr. Kelvin Coleman, Executive Director, National Cyber Security Alliance
- Ms. Amanda W. Senn, Chief Deputy Director, Alabama Securities Commission; on behalf of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA)
- Mr. Jamil Jaffer, Founder & Executive Director, National Security Institute, Assistant Professor of Law & Director, National Security Law & Policy Program
Watch the virtual hearing here.
Visit Financial Services Committee Republicans’ website for additional resources and updates on efforts to mitigate the economic impact of coronavirus on consumers.
