Washington ( CNN ) -- Attorney General Eric Holder is calling on Congress to require companies to more quickly alert customers when their personal information is put at risk in cyberbreaches . In a video message Monday , Holder says `` a strong , national standard for quickly alerting consumers whose information may be compromised ... would empower the American people to protect themselves if they are at risk of identity theft . It would enable law enforcement to better investigate these crimes -- and hold compromised entities accountable when they fail to keep sensitive information safe. `` Federal law currently does n't offer any standard for companies to notify customers following breaches , though some states have notification laws . Many companies are wary that public notification will hurt their business . Proposals in Congress to require a uniform notification and security standard have languished for years . Support for one bill proposed by Sen. Patrick Leahy , D-Vermont , has grown in the wake of the massive breach of retailer Target , which Holder says compromised personal information of up to 70 million people , including credit- and debit-card data of 40 million Target customers . Leahy 's bill proposes to do much of what Holder is asking . Holder 's proposal in some ways contrasts with how law enforcement has dealt with past breaches . During past cyber break-ins , investigators have asked companies to not immediately make the information public . In some cases , cybercriminals are known to return to exploit the vulnerabilities , and investigators may be able to gather evidence as new breaches occur . The rise of cybercrime in recent years has alarmed U.S. officials . One well-regarded report on data breaches produced by Verizon says there were 621 confirmed breaches in 2012 , and that many breaches go unreported . Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey told a Senate committee last fall that soon the cybercrime threat will equal or surpass the threat from terrorism . The Obama administration has come up with legislative proposals to better defend the country from cyberattacks but that effort has largely been shelved , a casualty of the controversy surrounding government surveillance after disclosures by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden . The NSA would be a lead agency in any national cyberstrategy , and the agency is politically damaged post-Snowden . One criticism of mandated notification is that the number of such reported crimes could overwhelm law enforcement . Holder , in his video message , says any legislation should also provide exemptions for minor breaches . Holder says the breach at Target and another retailer Neiman Marcus around Christmastime last year shows the need for better tools for law enforcement . `` This legislation would strengthen the Justice Department 's ability to combat crime and ensure individual privacy -- while bringing cybercriminals to justice , '' he says . Eric Holder becomes an activist attorney general .
The FBI also said last year that cybercrime threat levels equal or surpass threats from terrorism . Federal law does n't set any standard for companies to notify customers following attacks . AG Holder released a video message calling for congressional action . He wants companies to be required to more quickly alert customers .