Republican lawmakers released a report this week that found major problems with the cybersecurity protocols of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). GOP members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology investigated three FDIC data breaches between September 2015 and February 2016. In each case, an employee of the agency, which is responsible for insuring consumer bank deposits, accidentally or intentionally stored the banking information of thousands of individuals on an unauthorized portable drive. In some cases, the agency did not publicly report the breaches. The first breach involved a disgruntled employee who kept a USB drive containing social security numbers and bank account details of approximately 30,000 people after she left her job last September. A similar incident a month later involved more than 100,000 files with sensitive information on individuals and banks. A third similar incident occurred In February, although this time the FDIC quickly discovered the breach and recovered the device less than a week later, according to the House committee's report. In addition, five more recent breaches also involving employees who kept FDIC data after they were fired or quit went unreported, the committee found.
Google Wallet Accounts Now FDIC-Insured "The Committee remains concerned about the FDIC's weak cybersecurity posture and its ability to prevent further breaches," the report said. "Further, the FDIC's repeated unwillingess to be open and transparent with the Committee's investigation raises serious concerns about whether the agency is still attempting to shield information from production to Congress." The FDIC did not immediatley respond to a request for comment. In addition to insuring consumer bank accounts up to $250,000, last year the FDIC also began insuring the funds in Google Wallet accounts. But most other funds held in digital accounts—like PayPal—aren't protected by the FDIC, since those services are considered non-banking institutions.
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