Readout of Briefing to Chairman McCaul on Anthem Cyber Attack

Statement

Yesterday, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, received a briefing from representatives from Anthem, Inc. on the recent cyber breach. Following the briefing, Chairman McCaul issued the following statement:

"The attack on Anthem, Inc. should sound the alarm bells for Americans. This is not the first attack that has affected the sensitive and personal information of Americans, and it will not be the last. The cybersecurity of our nation's infrastructure is under persistent attack from criminals, hacktivists and nation state actors.

"I applaud Anthem for working closely with federal law enforcement, DHS and other federal officials to identify the attacker, and to mitigate and recover compromised systems. The first step in combatting cyber attacks on our nation's critical infrastructure is to share cyber threat information. Because of Anthem's swift response and transparency, I am hopeful that other companies can protect their consumers from similar attacks. This is an example of how we can confront cyber threats if we all work together.

"However, Congress has yet to do its part to break down the legal barriers for the sharing of cyber threat information between the public and private sectors. Last year, I shepherded five cyber bills through Congress that were enacted into law, which lay out the rules of the road on how cyber information will be shared between government and the private sector. Now, we must build off of this and pass legislation to allow for information sharing. I will lead this effort with other committees in the House and Senate to ensure we move forward with greatly needed cybersecurity legislation as soon as possible."

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