WASHINGTON (September 14) – Congressman Spencer Bachus (AL-6) today discussed the role that the National Computer Forensics Institute in Hoover is playing in fighting cyber crime during a hearing on Capitol Hill.

            “Most people would be overwhelmed by the level of the threat posed by cyber criminals. There is a great need for public education because these are sophisticated enterprises that are well-trained, well-funded, and frequently international in scope. One important resource available to us is the National Computer Forensics Institute, which is teaching state and local law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges how to secure and analyze complicated computer-based evidence and use it in court in criminal cases,” said Bachus, who played a lead role in locating the center in Alabama.

            Congressman Bachus made his remarks during a hearing entitled “Cyber Security: Threats to the Financial Sector” held by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. Bachus, who is Chairman of the full committee, presided over a field hearing on cyber crime at the NCFI headquarters in Hoover on June 29.

            “Perhaps no topic my committee deals with is less understood than the importance of cyber security. Chances are that all of us know someone who has been the victim of a hacker, or had their identity stolen or their credit cards used for purposes they did not approve or did not even know about. And few crimes are committed today without the use of some electronic equipment, whether it’s a cell phone or a computer,” noted Bachus.

            Small business owners were advised to educate and protect themselves with information available in a data breach investigations report discussed at the hearing. (To view testimony given to committee on the report, click here.)

            Today’s hearing included testimony from the Assistant Director of the U.S. Secret Service, A. T. Smith; the Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gordon Smith; and the Acting Deputy Under Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, Greg Schaffer. Their testimony is available on the House Financial Services Committee webpage here.

To view an excerpt of Congressman Bachus' statement, click here.