The Secret Service is urging U.S. lawmakers to do more to prevent the cyber thefts similar to those that have recently hit Target Corp and other major retailers.

According to William Noonan, a top agent with the Secret Service’s cyber operations branch, “Legislative action could help to improve the nation’s cybersecurity, reduce regulatory costs on U.S. companies, and strengthen law enforcement’s ability to conduct effective investigations.”

Noonan testified Monday at a Senate Banking subcommittee hearing on safeguarding consumer financial data, Reuters reports. Noonan called the Target and Neiman Marcus data breaches “just the most recent, well-publicized examples of this decade-long trend.” His testimony focused on the transitional nature of cyber crimes, including network intrusion hacking, malicious software and account takeovers.

Today, senior officials from Target and Neiman Marcus are scheduled to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about recent data breaches.