JP Morgan Chase hacked by Russians
Posted by: Timothy Weaver on 08/28/2014 11:28 AM
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The FBI, with the assistance of the NSA, is investigating a suspected hacking attack against JP Morgan Chase that resulted in the leak of gigabytes of sensitive data.
According to "two [unnamed] people familiar with the probe", the Feds are working on the theory that Russian hackers hit US banks in retaliation for US sanctions imposed as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine.
Ordinary cyber-criminals are not suspected because of the sophistication of the attack. Rather, state-backed hackers are suspected. Amichai Shulman, CTO at data center security firm Imperva, said that indications that the attacks resulted in no initial financial loss point towards a politically motivated attack.
“Companies of our size unfortunately experience cyber attacks nearly every day,” Patricia Wexler, a JPMorgan spokeswoman, told Bloomberg in an email. “We have multiple layers of defense to counteract any threats and constantly monitor fraud levels.”
Shulman explained: "None of the people commenting on the incident mentioned a direct financial loss, or a direct fraudulent financial activity by the attacker. Everyone is talking about grabbing sensitive information. I find it odd that someone who was actually able to break into a bank is not using it for making immediate profit.
"Two possibilities here: the first is that there are missing pieces in the puzzle (ie, we are not being told everything) and second is that these were indeed politically motivated hackers."
According to "two [unnamed] people familiar with the probe", the Feds are working on the theory that Russian hackers hit US banks in retaliation for US sanctions imposed as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine.
Ordinary cyber-criminals are not suspected because of the sophistication of the attack. Rather, state-backed hackers are suspected. Amichai Shulman, CTO at data center security firm Imperva, said that indications that the attacks resulted in no initial financial loss point towards a politically motivated attack.
“Companies of our size unfortunately experience cyber attacks nearly every day,” Patricia Wexler, a JPMorgan spokeswoman, told Bloomberg in an email. “We have multiple layers of defense to counteract any threats and constantly monitor fraud levels.”
Shulman explained: "None of the people commenting on the incident mentioned a direct financial loss, or a direct fraudulent financial activity by the attacker. Everyone is talking about grabbing sensitive information. I find it odd that someone who was actually able to break into a bank is not using it for making immediate profit.
"Two possibilities here: the first is that there are missing pieces in the puzzle (ie, we are not being told everything) and second is that these were indeed politically motivated hackers."
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