Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke today welcomed a panel of cybersecurity experts to Brooklyn to discuss the best methods for individuals and business owners to protect their private information on the Internet.

The panel included Michael Kaiser, Executive Director of the National Cyber Security Alliance, William H. Efron, Northeast Region Director of the Federal Trade Commission, Brian Rauer, Executive Director of the Mid-Hudson Region & General Counsel for the Better Business Bureau of  Metropolitan New York, and Mitch Thompson, Supervisory Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Kristin Judge of the National Cyber Security Alliance offered instructions on multifactor authentication, which requires multiple methods of verifying identity to access private information.

“Much of our personal information – our text messages and emails, our credit card numbers, the records of our purchases and the websites we have visited – exists online, and therefore remains susceptible to hackers who want unauthorized access to our information to steal from our bank accounts or commit identity theft. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, I have an opportunity to develop policies that will protect consumers and businesses from those cybercriminals who want to exploit vulnerabilities and who access compromised systems to interfere in our networks and in our lives. Individuals have a role in this effort as well. Hackers will always want to steal your information: your credit card number, your Social Security number, the personal information you want to keep secret and that you have every right to keep secret. The hackers are sophisticated. Therefore, we must also become sophisticated in our use of Internet, in the passwords we use, in the websites we access, and the websites we choose to avoid. I commend the National Cyber Security Alliance, the Federal Trade Commission, Better Business Bureau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their commitment to assisting Internet users to protect themselves, their families, and their businesses from cybercriminals,” said Congresswoman Clarke.

“From small business to consumers, every digital user needs to be aware of the available tools to better protect personal information from cyber criminals,” said Kristin Judge, Director of Special Projects, National Cyber Security Alliance. “It takes less than a minute to set up an extra layer of protection like multi-factor authentication on your email, bank or social network account but an eternity to recoup your loss from a hack, so we urge all digital citizens to get two steps ahead.”

To access resources to protect yourself on the Internet, including instructions for implementing multifactor authentication to protect your information, please visit the National Cybersecurity Alliance at https://www.staysafeonline.org/

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the House of Representatives, a member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, as well as the Committee on Ethics and the Committee of Small Business. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.