Bono Mack wants cyberattack briefing

The California Republican wants information from McAfee about a massive attack the firm identified last week.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, requested a briefing Wednesday from security firm McAfee about a massive cyber-attack the firm identified last week. 

The attack, dubbed Operation Shady RAT, targeted more than 70 government organizations and corporations in 14 countries. The United Nations, the Department of Energy and numerous defense contractors were all affected by the data breach.

In a letter to Dmitri Alperovitch, McAfee’s vice president of threat research, Bono Mack asked a series of questions, including if the government and private sector can effectively prevent similar attacks and whether public disclosure would help or harm industry efforts to combat cybercrime.

According to McAfee, the attack focused on intellectual property and national secrets. Bono Mack asked McAfee whether hackers consider intellectual property and national security information a greater target than personal consumer information.

She also asked McAfee to clarify whether the attack affected any consumer information.

Bono Mack is the sponsor of the SAFE Data Act, which would require companies to notify consumers if their personal information is breached.  

The measure passed the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade subcommittee last month and is currently awaiting a vote in the full Energy and Commerce Committee.

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