(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks says the hack of a Texas software company that ultimately led to a computer breach in federal agencies shows every American must take online security seriously.   “You know, we’re all a weak link in this system,” Miller-Meeks says. Miller-Meeks, a Republican from Ottumwa, is a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security. The panel held a hearing about the security breach, Friday. Miller-Meeks says malware and ransomware are new realities that require vigilance.

“This is a tremendously important hearing,” Miller-Meeks says. “As I’ve listened to the testimony of our witness and both the insightful questions from my colleagues and the answers provided by our expert witnesses, I’m reminded of pulling a single threat, which then unravels an entire garment.” Federal investigators say Russia was likely responsible for planting malicious code into a software update from a private company in Texas called SolarWinds last March. Thousands of customers completed the software update and it wound up compromising email systems in several federal agencies.

Miller-Meeks says changing passwords may seem a nuisance, but this case should raise an alarm for all Americans.  “We need to use events like these as collective learning moments, the stakes are just too high to stand idly by,” Miller-Meeks says. One of the experts who testified said hospitals, schools and government agencies need more tools and better trained I-T staff to combat malicious software or “malware” attacks.