Dear Mr. Chairman:
I am writing to request that the Committee convene a bipartisan hearing to examine a recent data security breach at JPMorgan Chase that reportedly exposed the personal information of approximately 76 million households and 7 million small businesses.
According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, JPMorgan Chase reported that this data security breach compromised account holder names, addresses, and phone numbers, but not necessarily passwords.[1] Press reports indicate that, “[e]ven if no customer financial information was taken, the apparent breadth and depth of the JPMorgan attack shows how vulnerable Wall Street institutions are to cybercrime."[2] Media reports also indicate that about nine other financial institutions “were also infiltrated by the same group of overseas hackers."[3]
These attacks, which come on the heels of breaches involving tens of millions of consumers at Home Depot, Target, and others, have occurred “at a time when consumer confidence in the digital operations of corporate America has already been shaken."[4]
I believe that conducting an investigation of the data security breach at JPMorgan Chase and the other entities I have highlighted previously will help the Committee learn from these corporations about security vulnerabilities they have experienced in order to better protect our federal information technology assets.
Sincerely,
Elijah E. Cummings
Ranking Member
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[1] JPMorgan Chase & Co., Form 8-K Current Report (Oct. 2, 2014) (online at www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/19617/000119312514362173/d799478d8k.htm).
[2] Cyberattack Against JPMorgan Affects 76 Million Households, New York Times (Oct. 2, 2014) (online at https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/jpmorgan-discovers-further-cyber-security-issues/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0).
[3] Hackers’ Attack Cracked 10 Companies in Major Assault, New York Times (Oct. 3, 2014) (online at https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/03/hackers-attack-cracked-10-banks-in-major-assault/?_php=true&_type=blogs&hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0).
[4] Cyberattack Against JPMorgan Affects 76 Million Households, New York Times (Oct. 2, 2014) (online at https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/jpmorgan-discovers-further-cyber-security-issues/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0).
