[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 145 (Thursday, October 16, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     YOU'VE GOT MAIL--BUT IS IT SECURE? AN EXAMINATION OF INTERNET 
      VULNERABILITIES AFFECTING BUSINESSES, GOVERNMENTS, AND HOMES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LINDA T. SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 16, 2003

  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like to 
commend Chairman Davis and Ranking Member Waxman for calling this 
important hearing on Internet vulnerabilities and security threats. One 
such vulnerability is computer viruses and I know first hand how 
tedious and cumbersome computer infections can be. In the past year, I 
have had several computer viruses and they are costly and time 
consuming to fix.
  Through my Washington Update, I regularly email my constituents about 
what's happening in DC. When I wrote to my constituents about today's 
hearing and requested that they share with me some of their experiences 
with computer viruses, the response was immediate and resounding. I was 
immediately inundated with e-mails about the economic, social, and 
personal toll computer viruses have on the lives of my constituents.
  Let me share a sample of these stories with you today to highlight 
the impact viruses can have on our daily lives.
  Mark Patton, Vice President of American Remedial Technology, a small 
company in my community, wrote in and said:

       Our business was victimized by a number of computer viruses 
     on one occasion. We had hired an IT consultant to provide 
     maintenance of our network, but unfortunately they were not 
     keeping up with our virus protection. As a result we had to 
     replace our server, upgrade our system, and subsequently fire 
     our IT consultant. This episode cost our small business over 
     $10,000 without considering the lost time we incurred. 
     Viruses are a threat to all businesses. . . . The lesson is 
     buyers beware when hiring an IT consultant, but more 
     importantly as businesses become more dependant on the 
     Internet, Internet security becomes a very important issue.

  Mission Hills Mortgage Bankers/Gateway Business Bank wrote in and 
said:

       During the height of the virus-infected e-mail, Mission 
     Hills Mortgage Bankers/Gateway Business Bank webmail site was 
     swamped with thousands of virus-laden e-mails a day in August 
     and September. Fortunately, our firewall and virus software 
     caught and cleaned up the e-mail, but the sanitized e-mail 
     was passed through to the individuals to whom it was 
     addressed. Personally, I was deleting 30 to 50 e-mails a day, 
     both annoying and time consuming.
       What I didn't know was how vulnerable a home computer with 
     DSL or cable access is without a firewall even with virus-
     checker software. I wasn't aware that viruses can come thru 
     to your computer in ways other than on an e-mail until I got 
     one. That was a month ago. I purchased and installed a 
     firewall right away. But I am still experiencing a problem 
     with my computer. Apparently, the damage to files can remain 
     after the virus is cleaned up.

  This problem has not only affected businesses. Rio Hondo College 
wrote in and said:

       We were hit hard by the ``worm'' at Rio Hondo College 
     during the first week of our semester this Fall. Our 
     mainframe computer and every desktop computer on campus were 
     unusable for a week. We could not register students, certify 
     athletic eligibility of athletes, process financial aid 
     requests, conduct many classes, or function in any capacity 
     for a whole week. Eight weeks later we are still trying to 
     get computers and printers and e-mail functioning for every 
     one.

  Diane Schumacher wrote in and said:

       I had a virus in September of this year. It was the SO/BIG 
     Virus. I got it when I purchased an item over the Internet 
     that came with an attachment. I have been laid-off. The last 
     thing I needed was to be out of contact with not only EDD, 
     the Employment Development Department, but also with my job 
     search and support groups. Not to mention the expense of 
     repair.

  If the stories could not get any worst, this particular antidote 
affected me the most, Mark Calt wrote in and said:

       I'd like to take pictures of my daughter who currently is 2 
     years old. I used my digital camera to take a picture of her 
     from the moment she was born and every single month until she 
     reached her first birthday. I stored all those pictures in my 
     hard drive so when I am ready, I'll sort them all out and 
     have them developed and make a nice album that I can show to 
     my daughter when she grows up and maybe play a slide show 
     during her debut (18th Birthday Party). But my computer was 
     hit by the virus just before I got them developed . . . my 
     one year worth of project, my dream, and my gift to my 
     daughter are all gone together with the pictures. I would 
     pay--no matter what the price--if I could retrieve all those 
     pictures . . . they were priceless . . . you cannot bring 
     back the hands of time!

  The stories I've shared with you today underscore the prevalence of 
computer infections. Furthermore, computer viruses are a ``real 
problem'' not just for businesses, but home users are also affected by 
this costly burden. An unemployed constituent, a community college, a 
bank and a father, all have been victimized by computer viruses. 
Computer viruses affect all of us.
  There is much work ahead of us to eradicate threat, so I thank each 
of the witnesses for being here today to discuss this important topic 
and I look forward to your testimony. Again, I would like to thank the 
Chairman and Ranking Member for having this hearing.

                          ____________________