Subcommittee on Communications and Techn

Promoting Security in Wireless Technology Subcommittee on Communications and Techn

Mobile connectivity has become essential to our daily lives as a result of technology and consumer demand. Unfortunately, increasing reliance on wireless devices and networks has provided more avenues for cybercriminals to compromise our security and harm consumers. According to the 2017 Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report, cybercrimes cost the global economy approximately 450 billion, and over 100 million Americans had their medical records stolen in 2016. Threats to mobile devices and networks can run the gamut from the use of ransomware and phishing schemes to packet sniffing and attacks on encryption protocols used to protect information sent over WiFi. These incidents have been occurring with alarming frequency on scales large and small. The Harvard Business Review wrote last September 22nd [2016] that "Mobile devices are one of the weakest links in corporate security," and that "if mobile security isn't a problem for your company yet, it will be." Hackers are smart. They are adapting. McAfee's 2016 Mobile Threat Report notes mobile devices are quickly becoming the cybercriminal's target of choice because of the abundance of sensitive information individuals store on them. This is corroborated by a Newsweek report from March that stated mobile ransomware attacks had already grown over 250 percent in 2017.