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House committee launches probe of Fed's cybersecurity breaches

A Reuters report that cited dozens of cybersecurity incidents in the past few years at the US central bank has raised some eyebrows on the science, space and technology committee.

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A US House committee took notice of a news report earlier this week that said the Federal Reserve Bank discovered more than 50 cyber breaches between 2011 and 2015. Now the committee has put the Fed on notice, saying it will investigate the US central bank's cybersecurity practices.

In a letter Friday to Fed Chair Janet Yellen, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology said it's concerned about the central bank's "ability to prevent threats from compromising highly sensitive financial information housed on the agency's systems."

The Reuters story on Wednesday was based on redacted internal records, which did not say who may have hacked the Fed or whether money or personal information was stolen.

The committee wants the Fed to release unredacted reports of cyber incidents going back to 2009. It's asking for a response by June 17. Reuters was the first to report news of the investigation.

The Federal Reserve Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.