Cyber attacks on US banks

This was originally blamed on the Iranian government.

US electronic banking operations under siege

A SHADOWY but well-organised hacker group in the Middle East has disrupted the electronic banking operations of the United States' largest financial institutions.

The Age,

28 September, 2012

The attack has underscored US vulnerability to online attacks.

A group identifying itself as Izz al-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters attacked the websites of Wells Fargo, US Bancorp and the Bank of America. The strikes left customers temporarily unable to use their cheque accounts, mortgages and other services.

The banks said accounts and personal information for their tens of millions of online and mobile customers were not compromised.

Still, experts said the size and ferocity of the attacks highlight the broader threat posed by hacking and the susceptibility of financial targets.

Of particular concern is that the attackers used the internet to warn the institutions first - but they still could not stop it.

''The banks put a lot of effort into cyber security,'' said James Lewis, an expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. ''But they're so desirable as a target, even with all that effort they still have problems. If you can pull together enough resources, you can overwhelm any defence temporarily.''

The attacks on banks began last week on the largest institutions in the country: JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and the Bank of America. They spread to Wells Fargo on Tuesday and US Bank on Wednesday. Another attack has been threatened against PNC Financial Services.

The US government and banks have been working feverishly to learn more about the attackers.

A financial executive not authorised to speak publicly described a ''war room'' where bankers were co-ordinating efforts with the Department of Homeland Security.

Izz al-Din al-Qassam - the name of a Muslim preacher who fought British rule in Palestine in the 1930s - is also used by the military wing of Hamas, the Palestinian movement that governs the Gaza Strip.

Experts say the attacks appear to have originated from the Middle East, thought it isn't clear who is behind them.

On Tuesday the group posted a manifesto on the internet saying attacks would continue until a video insulting the prophet Muhammad was removed from the internet. Dmitri Alperovitch, a computer security expert investigating the attacks, said they were the latest in a series of cyber assaults by the group.

Mr Alperovitch said Izz al-Din al-Qassam had demonstrated ''advanced capabilities''.

He said his firm, CrowdStrike Inc, had linked the group to attacks on other targets since January, long before the trailer for the anti-Islamic film was posted on YouTube.

The Pittsburgh-based PNC, facing an attack overnight, was preparing for the worst. ''We're taking appropriate measures,'' a spokesman said.

Mr Alperovitch said the volume of phoney demands on bank sites was two to three times heavier than previous records for denial-of-service attacks, and 10 to 20 times higher than the average such attack.

Still, the onslaught so far had had a ''very limited impact'', resulting in only brief shutdowns of websites.

Some speculation centred on whether Iran might be retaliating for economic sanctions placed over its nuclear program and enforced by US banks.

Iran's nuclear program has also been targeted by US cyber attacks codenamed Olympic Games.