CFPB Director Richard Cordray was pressed by three House Financial Services Committee members on data security Tuesday in a hearing on the bureau’s fourth semiannual report to Congress.

The hearing discussion covered a wide range of consumer financial protection issues, including CFPB’s mortgage rules. Additionally, three committee members specifically aired concerns about data security amid ongoing reports of the known breach at Target and the suspected one at Michaels Stores.

Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., raised privacy concerns about the national mortgage database maintained by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and CFPB and pointed to a Government Accountability Office report that government breaches are up 42 percent over the last year. He also entered NAFCU’s most recent letter to Capitol Hill on data security into the hearing record.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., asked if CFPB has any jurisdiction over retailer breaches; Cordray said the bureau has put out a bulletin on how consumers can protect themselves.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, chairman of the housing and insurance subcommittee, asked how CFPB ensures the safety of the consumer data it maintains. Cordray said the bureau attempts to safeguard any aggregated information it has and complies with all security and privacy requirements.

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