WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a hearing titled “Protecting Consumers in the Era of Major Data Breaches,” at approximately 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, in room Dirksen 106. The exact start time is contingent on the conclusion of an earlier and separate Commerce Committee business meeting that will be open to the public in the same hearing room.

“Massive data breaches have touched the vast majority of American consumers,” said Thune. “When such breaches occur, urgent action is necessary to protect sensitive personal information. This hearing will give the public the opportunity to hear from those in charge, at the time major breaches occurred and during the subsequent response efforts, at two large companies who lost personal consumer data to nefarious actors.”

The hearing will feature testimony from a current and a former official who worked on the response to Yahoo!’s 2013 data breach, which the company announced only last month affected all 3 billion user accounts, as well as the current and former CEO of Equifax, which suffered a 2017 breach reported to affect approximately 145 million individuals, including sensitive personal and financial information. Also testifying will be a witness with expertise on protecting financial data.

Witnesses:

  - Mr. Paulino do Rego Barros, Jr., Interim Chief Executive Officer, Equifax, Inc.
  - Mr. Richard Smith, Former Chief Executive Officer, Equifax, Inc.
  - Ms. Marissa Mayer, Former Chief Executive Officer, Yahoo!, Inc.
  - Ms. Karen Zacharia, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer, Verizon Communications, Inc. (parent company of Yahoo! since June 2017)
  - Mr. Todd Wilkinson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Entrust Datacard Corp. 

Hearing Details:

Wednesday, November 8, 2017
10:00 a.m.
Dirksen 106
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

This hearing will take place in Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 106. Witness testimony, opening statements, and a live video of the hearing will be available on www.commerce.senate.gov.

Note (11/1/17): Changed to reflect that Verizon Communications, Inc. became the parent company of Yahoo! in June 2017, not 2016.