Cyber
Attacks on U.S. Banks Expose Computer Vulnerability
Cyber-attackers are at it again. But this time, the magnitude of the
attack is massive. The victims include the great and mighty banks in the US;
namely JPMorgan Chase, Well Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, U.S. Bancorp,
and PNC Financial Services Group. Rodney Joffe, senior vice president at Neustar,
Sterling, Virginia-based security firm puts it very well by saying “the
nature of this attack is sophisticated enough or large enough that even the
largest of the financial institutions would find it difficult to defend against.”
According to cybersecurity specialists, the recent escalation of cyber-attacks
has “overpowered some of the most sophisticated computer defenses of U.S.
banks.” The extent of the impact of the threat also got the attention of not
only the entire financial institutions, but also the White House, U.S.
Congress, and every financially related enterprise. For example, sources close
the Obama administration and security expert helping to trace the attack said “the
attacks, which originate outside the U.S., have been the subject of several
closed-door meetings at the White House.”
Could this incident have some connection with the You Tube video depicting
Prophet Muhammad? That question is being sorted out by the authorities.
However, the fact that “a group calling itself Izz ad-Din al-Quassam Cyber
Fighters claimed responsibility for the assault in a statement posted to the
website pastebin.com” may give some indication as to who is behind these well
planned attacks. Also, banks are declining to comment for fear of premature
conclusions. The banks major concern going forward is about what they could
suffer if “an organization with more resources” should launch attacks. It is
indeed a test of the banking industry computer networks and the integrity of
their intrusion detection technology. Even though these banks were forewarned
about the attacks, yet the banks were unable to handle the DDoS attacks,
according to Atif Mushtag, senior staff scientist with California-based security
firm, FireEye, Inc.
It is my hope that given the magnitude
the impact of the attack on these banks and its effect of financial consumers’
confidence, more cyber-attack deterrent measures would be implemented within
the financial institutions systems. It should also be a good lesson for the
Federal authorities, such as the FBI, NSA, and the DoD.
Retrieved September
28, 2012, from
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-28/cyber-attacks-on-u-s-banks-expose-computer-vulnerability.html