WASHINGTON D.C. -- Lawmakers on Capitol Hill called on major technology companies Wednesday to be more proactive in their anticipation and response to issues with hardware and software that leave computers and digital devices vulnerable to threats from hackers.

• "Spectre and Meltdown" left systems vulnerable earlier in 2018
• Director of Florida Center for Cybersecurity testified before committee
• Nelson: Why didn't companies involve government sooner?

Earlier this year a critical processor flaw was discovered in some computer chips which left millions of computers manufactured in the last 20 years vulnerable to hackers.

The design flaw, known as "Spectre and Meltdown," potentially exposed data in everything from servers to desktops to tablets and smartphones. It was eventually corrected by software makers and manufacturers. 

Now Members of Congress are calling on major technology companies to be more proactive to prevent similar threats in the future.

“Now these companies over and over have new vulnerabilities," said Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee.  

Nelson and other lawmakers want to know why companies didn't involve the U.S. government immediately when it discovered the vulnerabilities.  

“Isn’t it interesting that for seven months the company notified its customers, which included Chinese customers, before it told the people, the world, the U.S. government that there was a vulnerability," Nelson said. "That’s totally unacceptable."

Sri Sridharan, the director with the Florida Center for Cybersecurity testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, and attempted to pull back the curtain for lawmakers. 

“We need to practice good cyber hygiene and make sure we use best practices to avoid these things from happening," Sridharan explained in an interview following the hearing. 

“The question is how quickly do we know there’s a vulnerability. That’s the real challenge that we want to tackle, not after the fact. We want to be proactive rather than be reactive," Sridharan said.

The fallout from "Spectre and Meltdown" is ongoing. Google and Microsoft discovered another set of vulnerabilities related to the previous bug just a few months ago.

With the midterm elections just four months away, lawmakers are concerned. 

“I think it’s very clear that the Russians interrupted disrupted our last election. I think they’re going to try to again," Nelson said.

The committee have reached out to executives at Intel, Apple and Amazon to further inquire about their efforts to mitigate the threats still to come, which cybersecurity experts warn could be imminent. 

“Meltdown and Spectre are a thing of the past, but how many more of these lurk in the background that we don’t know about?" Sridharan said.