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D.C. Dispatches by Derek Wallbank

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    McCollum seeks hearings on cybersecurity

    By Derek Wallbank | Published Sat, Jan 30 2010 2:13 pm

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Betty McCollum is calling for congressional hearings on cybersecurity, two days after her own official House Web site was defaced by hackers.

    The hackers, who identified themselves as the Red Eye CREW, were able to access the Websites of 49 House members Wednesday night, posting profanity on a Website that usually contains an inoffensive collection of links and photos of McCollum at various events.

    McCollum and California Democrat Mike Honda detailed their request in a letter to Reps. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Robert Aderholt, chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, a subcommittee McCollum and Honda both sit on.

    "As Members of Congress, we are responsible for protecting sensitive information relating to our constituents, employees and partners in and outside of the federal government. Any breach of the House Information System carries unacceptable risk."

    This isn't the first such hack either — 20 House Websites were hacked in August.

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner, in a letter sent Thursday, asked the House's chief administrative officer to work with that subcommittee in doing a full review of security standards.

    Washington Bureau | Sat, Jan 30 2010 2:13 pm | Comment

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    Illustration by Hugh Bennewitz

    minnpost.com/derekwallbank


    Derek Wallbank is MinnPost's Washington, D.C., correspondent, covering Minnesota's congressional delegation and reporting on developments out of Washington that are important to Minnesota readers. After graduating from Michigan State University, he covered Michigan politics for the Gongwer News Service, a publication aimed at political insiders. Later he became a reporter for the Lansing State Journal, writing about education and politics and founding the Journal's respected politics blog. Most recently he was a researcher and reporter with Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C. He can be reached at dwallbank[at]minnpost[dot]com.

    More dispatches by Derek Wallbank