Reuters – A U.S. congressional committee has launched an investigation into the Federal Reserve’s cybersecurity practices after a Reuters report revealed more than 50 breaches at the U.S. central bank between 2011 and 2015.
The House Science, Space and Technology Committee sent a letter to Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) Chair Janet Yellen on Friday expressing "serious concerns" about the central bank's ability to protect sensitive financial information.
The letter cited the Reuters report, which relied heavily on internal Central Bank records released through a Freedom of Information Act request. The redacted records do not say who breached the bank’s systems, whether they had access to sensitive information or whether they stole money.
“These reports raise serious concerns about the Federal Reserve’s cybersecurity posture, including its ability to prevent threats from breaches to highly sensitive financial information housed in the institution’s systems,” said the letter, signed by House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith and Representative Barry Loudermilk.
A Bank spokesperson stated that they have received a letter and “will respond to it.”
The committee asked the Federal Reserve’s National Incident Response Team to turn over all records of attacks on the organization from January 1, 2009, to the present. It also requested all incident reports from the central bank’s local incident response teams.
The investigation into the US central bank's security practices is not the only one ordered. A separate investigation by the same committee into the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will also be conducted into the theft of $81 million from one of its accounts, which was carried out through the central bank of Bangladesh.
The committee requested an answer to its questions by June 17
