Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) chaired a congressional field hearing on Thursday with law enforcement and representatives from the private sector to discuss the protection of consumers’ personal data from cyberattack.
President and CEO of Bryn Mawr Trust Ted Peters was a witness at the hearing, which also featured representatives from the FBI, the Secret Service and the National Retail Federation.
Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Yvette Clark (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) joined Meehan at the hearing, which took place on the Philadelphia campus of Drexel Unviersity, where the Drexel University Cybersecurity Institute was recently launched.
“Fraud is nothing new, but the techniques and scope have risen to a new level,” Meehan, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies, said. “Our increasingly interconnected world and the growth of online commerce has made our lives much more convenient – but it also means that a sophisticated criminal can steal your account information without even being in the same country.
“Consumers must also do their part to protect themselves,” Meehan said. “Simple steps to increase cyber hygiene include creating strong passwords and changing them regularly, using antivirus software and keeping it updated and most importantly, keeping an eye out for suspicious activity on your computer and in your bank accounts.”