Republican to Treasury office: You forgot something

Why doesn’t the Office of Financial Research website have any reference to cybersecurity?

That’s what Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) wants to know, after the office recently redesigned its website.

Housed within the Treasury Department, the OFR was created following the 2008 financial crisis to provide quality financial data for lawmakers and better analysis of the financial sector’s performance.

{mosads}“While I was impressed by the OFR’s nifty new website, I was sad to see a continued lack of reference to its efforts to keep the financial data of millions of Americans secure or any semblance of an annual work plan,” said Royce, a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

A massive 2014 data breach at JPMorgan Chase, which exposed the information of 76 million households, has raised questions about the financial sector’s cyber defenses. Months later, a smaller breach at Morgan Stanley, in which an employee stole client data, has only driven more security concerns.

The OFR isn’t paying proper attention to these risks, Royce said.

“Perhaps the OFR should focus more of its resources on improving interagency communication when preparing public reports rather than fancy logos,” he said.

Royce plans to reintroduce a bill this year that would require the OFR to develop a cybersecurity plan and an overall annual work plan that outlines its agenda and priorities.

The measure, the Office of Financial Research Accountability Act, was co-sponsored by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) in the last Congress.