(Washington, D.C.)—U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, and House Committee on Small Business Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) today sent a letter to U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza seeking information on a recent data breach that exposed the personally identifiable information of nearly 8,000 individuals who applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL).

 “SBA must immediately provide a complete accounting of this incident, including a summary of information about the data breach and how the breach occurred, the number of individuals and firms that may have been affected, when SBA notified those individuals and firms possibly affected, the period of time information was compromised, and what steps SBA has taken to ensure that applicant information is secure going forward,” the Members wrote. “We do not need to emphasize how vulnerable the nation’s small businesses are right now. More than ever, they are counting on SBA to deliver vital assistance in a responsible and competent manner.  Please know that Congress stands ready to work with you to prevent future breaches of this kind.”

According to press reports, SBA recently informed affected EIDL applicants that they were among the nearly 8,000 individuals whose personally identifiable information, including Social Security Number, income, name and contact information, was exposed in a data breach.

Click here to download a PDF of the letter.