Subcommittee on Research and Technology

Cybersecurity Subcommittee on Research and Technology

One of the great challenges of the 21st Century is cybersecurity. Over the summer of 2015, the Office of Personnel Management was the target of two massive data breaches, exposing the sensitive information of over 21.5 million Americans. The OPM breach highlighted the growing challenge of preventing and responding to cyber threats for both the public and private sectors. In 2014 and 2015, cyber-attacks on Target, eBay, Home Depot, and Anthem Health Insurance were only a few of the many publicly disclosed breaches. The data breach of Anthem alone exposed the Social Security numbers of 80 million Americans. The time has come for every manager and every employee in both government and private organizations to make cybersecurity a top priority in their daily work, and for leaders to be held accountable for negligent failures to protect information. When criminal hackers gained access to some 40 million Target customer credit cards, the CEO and the CIO were fired. While the threats continue to grow, many in the private sector are increasingly taking steps to protect their information systems and the personal information of Americans. To reduce the risk and improve the security of cyberspace, it will take the combined efforts of the Federal government, the private sector, researchers, engineers, and the general public.