Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called on Congress to take up the proposed cybersecurity legislation and prioritize breach notification standards following reports of an Excellus BlueCross BlueShield data breach in December 2013.The senator said in a press release Thursday that the breach discovered in August exposed the health and financial information of an estimated 10 million people and highlights the need for stronger cybersecurity and notification measures.
“I am urging my colleagues in Congress to strengthen consumer cyber protections and require companies to notify their customers if there has been a breach of their personal information in a timely matter so they can take action to ensure they are not the victim of identity theft,” Schumer said.
He added that intelligence and law enforcement agencies should continue to collaborate and share information on cyber threats in order to mitigate future attacks.
The senator noted that Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and many other companies house consumer data such as Social Security numbers and financial records on online servers.
The growing number of attacks in recent years increasingly puts consumers at risk of identity theft, he said.
