| Senator Deb Fischer |
Identity theft has been the number one consumer complaint at the Federal Trade Commission for 13 consecutive years. According to a report released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in December, these crimes cost men and women across the country over $24.7 billion in 2012 alone.
Unfortunately, far too many hardworking citizens have endured this difficult and stressful experience. Identity theft leaves victims – especially the elderly – feeling vulnerable. Personal information ranging from their bank accounts to household information has been egregiously compromised.
Recently, news broke that during the holiday shopping season, the popular retail store Target suffered a massive data breach. Initial reports suggested that 40 million customers had their debit and credit card information stolen. Days later, it was announced that the names, addresses and phone numbers of up to 70 million more customers had been pilfered as well.
While details of the breach are still under investigation, potentially more than 100 million Americans – nearly one third of our population – have fallen victim. The number of those violated is staggering, and notably, they account for just one breach.
The scope and volume of information stolen in data breaches put consumers at greater risk of having their identities stolen. Experts suggest it gives criminals increased resources to devise new ways to impersonate victims. It also enables scammers to trick people into providing even more private information, such as PIN and social security numbers.
As many Nebraskans may know, the widely used social media platform, Snapchat, was also recently hacked. Phone numbers of 4.6 million of its users were stolen. It has also been reported that three other retailers, who have yet to be identified, may have been attacked as well.
The American people have enough on their minds. They shouldn’t have the added burdens of fighting identity theft and scammers. Identity theft is not just an inconvenience. It threatens the credit ratings of hardworking citizens, and it’s an enormous tax on people’s time.
This growing crisis has exposed the glaring need to update our data security system. Effective measures to do so will require congressional action. As a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, I hope to work with my colleagues on this pressing matter. The committee has an important role in assessing vulnerabilities in our current system and working towards policies that successfully address potential problems.
On January 10, I sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee urging them to schedule hearings to examine recent data breaches. These hearings would better enable lawmakers to explore how we can both prevent and minimize the impact of data breaches in the future.
I believe that it is important to hear from security experts, consumers, and businesses owners who have firsthand knowledge of these data storage systems and their weaknesses. Smart policy results from an open, collaborative process with input from all those affected. Our first reaction should not be to automatically dispense fresh reams of red tape. Rather, policy solutions must be thoughtful, targeted, and deliberate to be effective.
I look forward to working with my colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, on proposals that truly enhance our data security, protect consumers, and make life easier for the American people.
During the week of January 20, I’ll be using the Senate’s “state work week” to travel the state and meet directly with Nebraskans. I plan to be in the Omaha area, Lincoln, South Sioux City, Wakefield, Wahoo, and Oakland. I look forward to visiting these communities and discussing many of these and other topics that are on people’s minds.
Thank you for taking part in our democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
Unfortunately, far too many hardworking citizens have endured this difficult and stressful experience. Identity theft leaves victims – especially the elderly – feeling vulnerable. Personal information ranging from their bank accounts to household information has been egregiously compromised.
Recently, news broke that during the holiday shopping season, the popular retail store Target suffered a massive data breach. Initial reports suggested that 40 million customers had their debit and credit card information stolen. Days later, it was announced that the names, addresses and phone numbers of up to 70 million more customers had been pilfered as well.
While details of the breach are still under investigation, potentially more than 100 million Americans – nearly one third of our population – have fallen victim. The number of those violated is staggering, and notably, they account for just one breach.
The scope and volume of information stolen in data breaches put consumers at greater risk of having their identities stolen. Experts suggest it gives criminals increased resources to devise new ways to impersonate victims. It also enables scammers to trick people into providing even more private information, such as PIN and social security numbers.
As many Nebraskans may know, the widely used social media platform, Snapchat, was also recently hacked. Phone numbers of 4.6 million of its users were stolen. It has also been reported that three other retailers, who have yet to be identified, may have been attacked as well.
The American people have enough on their minds. They shouldn’t have the added burdens of fighting identity theft and scammers. Identity theft is not just an inconvenience. It threatens the credit ratings of hardworking citizens, and it’s an enormous tax on people’s time.
This growing crisis has exposed the glaring need to update our data security system. Effective measures to do so will require congressional action. As a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, I hope to work with my colleagues on this pressing matter. The committee has an important role in assessing vulnerabilities in our current system and working towards policies that successfully address potential problems.
On January 10, I sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee urging them to schedule hearings to examine recent data breaches. These hearings would better enable lawmakers to explore how we can both prevent and minimize the impact of data breaches in the future.
I believe that it is important to hear from security experts, consumers, and businesses owners who have firsthand knowledge of these data storage systems and their weaknesses. Smart policy results from an open, collaborative process with input from all those affected. Our first reaction should not be to automatically dispense fresh reams of red tape. Rather, policy solutions must be thoughtful, targeted, and deliberate to be effective.
I look forward to working with my colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, on proposals that truly enhance our data security, protect consumers, and make life easier for the American people.
During the week of January 20, I’ll be using the Senate’s “state work week” to travel the state and meet directly with Nebraskans. I plan to be in the Omaha area, Lincoln, South Sioux City, Wakefield, Wahoo, and Oakland. I look forward to visiting these communities and discussing many of these and other topics that are on people’s minds.
Thank you for taking part in our democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
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