US Federal Reserve faces probe over breaches

A US congressional committee has launched a probe into the Federal Reserve’s cybersecurity capabilities in the wake of reports that the central banking system detected over 50 cyber breaches in a four-year period.

An investigative report from news agency Reuters, based on redacted internal documents secured through freedom of information requests, uncovered details of more than 50 breaches among 310 incident reports for the period between 2011 and 2015.

In response to the news, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology has sent a letter to US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen calling for more information on these security incidents.

The committee is also seeking details regarding how the Federal Reserve’s National Incident Response Team responds to security incidents and works to prevent threats from compromising confidential information.

“These reports raise serious concerns about the Federal Reserve’s cybersecurity posture, including its ability to prevent threats from compromising highly sensitive financial information housed on the agency’s systems,” the letter states.

The letter adds that robust security capabilities are essential “given the especially sensitive data stored on the Federal Reserve’s systems, which could be extremely valuable in the hands of foreign governments and those who seek to threaten the stability of the US financial system”.

Image courtesy of Kurtis Garbutt under CC