Chertoff Questioned on TSA Data Breach
Thursday, May 10, 2007
May 10, 2007 – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection, sent the following letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff regarding the recent stolen laptop and subsequent data security breach at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). A link to the text of the letter is below.
Chairman Thompson issued the following statement regarding the issue:
“This terrible incident at TSA does not give any peace of mind to its thousands of employees nor the American public it serves on a daily basis. If TSA cannot keep track of equipment with sensitive data, it is difficult to understand how the American public can expect TSA to protect and secure our nation's transit, aviation, and rail systems.”
Rep. Markey added the following:
“The apparent theft of a laptop with personal information belonging to thousands of TSA employees and the troubling lack of adequate security surrounding personal information entered by airline passengers through a TSA web site are simply unacceptable, particularly for an agency responsible for securing our nation. Unfortunately, these latest breaches are symptomatic of the Department’s dismal record of falling far short of adequate data privacy and security standards. It’s time for some answers.”
Rep. Jackson-Lee said the following:
“It is very concerning to me that the theft of the personal and financial records of 100,000 TSA employees resulted from a breach in security at the same Department we created to protect the very security of our nation. Accordingly, I felt that it was critical that TSA Administrator Kip Hawley immediately come before my Subcommittee on May 11, 2007, to brief Members on the status of the investigation into the loss of these records. TSA’s 50,000 employees serve a valuable function, and I am committed to ensuring that their privacy rights are protected, that this investigation is handled with the attention it warrants, and that we exercise intense oversight with regards to security at the TSA.”
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please contact Dena Graziano or Todd Levett at (202) 225-9978.
