Several large US banks were attacked by hackers who appear to have used malware and a zero-day vulnerability to infiltrate networks and obtain corporate and customer data. At least five banks—only JP Morgan Chase was identified—were involved in the attacks, in which cybercriminals stole “gigabytes of customer data,” according to the anonymous sources cited by news outlets. However, it is unclear whether they took credit card or other account information. The fact that there have been no reports of money moved from accounts indicates the attack was politically motivated, according to a US government source. The US FBI, Secret Service, and National Security Agency are investigating the breaches. Initial investigations indicate the attacks were routed through computers in Latin America from servers that Russian hackers are known to use. Security vendor Trend Micro reported an uptick in attacks on US and European banks since 24 July 2014 from computers whose IP addresses appear to be in former Soviet bloc countries. JP Morgan Chase spokesperson Brian Marchiony declined comment on the recent incidents, saying only, “Companies of our size unfortunately experience cyberattacks nearly every day. We have multiple layers of defense to counteract threats and constantly monitor fraud levels.” In April, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the company was increasing its annual expenditures on security by 25 percent—to $250 million—compared to 2013. (CNN Money)(re/Code)(Bloomberg)
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Banks Back off Bitcoin
The list of international governments and financial institutions concerned about Bitcoin is growing. Bank of France issued a warning about the risks associated with the digital currency, including its volatility as of late. The valuation rose late last month to $1,000/Bitcoin. China also issued a warning against trading in Bitcoin. Canada’s so-called “Big 6 banks,” including Scotiabank and National Bank, have reportedly frozen or shut down accounts owned by Canadian companies that trade the digital currency and convert it to cash. The US government is also investigating the digital currency. Bitcoin is unregulated and not backed by any central bank or government. Governments’ other primary concerns include money laundering and the ability for individuals to use it to circumvent currency controls. (Financial Times)(Global News)(Reuters – 1)(Reuters – 2)
