Subcommittee hearing examines vulnerabilities within wireless technology, wireless networks

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology recently held a hearing to assess cybersecurity risks within wireless technologies and the networks to which they connect.

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who chairs the subcommittee, said the increasing reliance on wireless devices and networks has provided hackers more avenues to be compromised and harm consumers.

“The sophistication and frequency of cyberattacks against mobile devices continues to escalate and we must meet this challenge head on,” Blackburn said.

According to testimony from Bill Wright, who serves as director of Government Affairs at Symantec, hackers are trending away from utilizing sophisticated attacks and are instead focusing on simple, straightforward attacks.

“Yet despite this trend away from sophisticated attacks, the results were extraordinary, including: over 1.1 billion identities exposed; power outages in the Ukraine; over $800 million stolen through business email compromise (BEC) scams over just a sixth month period; $81 million stolen in one bank heist alone; … these shifting tactics demonstrate the resourcefulness of cyber criminals and attackers,” Wright said.

In a round of questioning, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) inquired about the shortage of skilled labor in the cybersecurity workforce and what could be done to maintain it.

Amit Yoran, chairman and CEO of Tenable Network Security, responded by stating there were two critical aspects to attracting and retaining cybersecurity talent. One was providing intellectually-stimulating work, while the other was creating a culture that was dynamic and enjoyable to be a part of.

“Hard-working taxpayers are demanding leadership from Washington in the cyber arena and it is our duty to provide it,” Blackburn said. “Whether it is encryption, the use of authentication standards, updating operating systems, or rigorous implementation of anti-virus software – we must have an all of the above approach when it comes to forging defensive strategies that will defeat and deter cyber criminals.”