For data security expert Phillip Smith, the proliferation of news about consumer data breaches isn’t media hype: Hackers are a growing problem that companies can’t fix, only mitigate.

Smith, senior vice president of data security company Trustwave Holdings Inc., told members of a House subcommittee on Wednesday that breaches are on the rise. But companies can lessen their vulnerability to hackers. The businesses, however, need a set of tools to do so.