Rep. Ritchie Torres to Sec. Kristi Noem: The Mass Data Breach Demands Urgent National Attention

Yesterday, Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The letter reads as follows (PDF attached here):

“I write to urge the Department of Homeland Security to launch an immediate investigation into one of the largest data breaches in American history, exposing over 16 billion stolen credentials, taken through infostealer malware and trafficked across the dark web. As reported, the scope of the breach is staggering illustrating 30 separate datasets averaging 500 million records each, with the largest surpassing 3.5 billion entries. The scale alone demands urgent national attention.

“Cybercriminals deployed this malware to infect individual devices and extract credentials, including log-in information to Apple, Facebook, and Google accounts, without breaking into the company’s networks. The result is a vast compromise of identity, privacy, and security, leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to unauthorized access, having their accounts takeover, identity theft, and subsequent phishing and, ransomware attacks.

“In light of this breach, it should serve as a flashing red light to surge resources to bolster our cybersecurity apparatus, yet I am deeply disturbed by the numerous actions this Administration has taken to undermine our cybersecurity posture, further jeopardizing our national security. These actions include disbanding the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) firing of hundreds of critical cybersecurity staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and proposing draconian budget cuts to cause an additional 1,000 staffing cuts at CISA endangers our security.

“All combined, this will result in our federal cyber defense apparatus reduced to a shell of its former self. Rather than strengthening America’s digital defense and resilience, this Administration treats cybersecurity, and the professionals who protect us from those who wish us harm, as part of a so-called “deep state” that he obsesses about defunding and dismantling.

“The Department of Homeland Security has a solemn duty to secure the homeland against cyber threats. That duty begins with a full-scale investigation of the breach, rehiring the previously fired staff of CISA, reconstituting the CSRB, and reversing the proposed $495 million cuts to CISA.

“Our cybersecurity depends on undoing the damage this Administration has done to America’s ability to defend itself against all cyber threats foreign and domestic.”