A cyber-attack has hit the largest US bank (by assets). JPMorgan Chase has since warned that almost have a million customers and their personal data may be at risk after ‘unknown hackers attacked the network.’ No funds are thought to have been stolen, but unknown data breaches of personal information may have been seized. The bank has yet to elaborate. Kristy Nichols, the Louisiana Commissioner of Administration issued a statement claiming “The data exposure affects only cardholders who registered their cards on the JPMorgan UCard website and, between July and September 2013, performed certain actions online.” This scenario took place in 2013.[1] This week, in 2014, JPMorgan Chase was hacked again. With such a large bank being hacked twice within 12 months, this raises some vital questions: the main one being security, both on a personal level and of a national one. chasehackrussia It was not yet clear how the cyber-attacks occurred, nor was it clear who the responsible party was in 2013, but the common answer in 2014, with reignited Cold War tensions – according to the FBI, NSA and Secret Service, is that Russia may have had some involvement in ‘recent events.’ The FBI, along with the assistance of the NSA and Secret Service, are investigating this major breach. It is still yet to be determined, as the same scenario in 2013, as to what information has been breached and to what extent. The FBI did release a statement reporting ‘cyber-attacks against several financial institutions.’[2] “Companies of our size unfortunately experience cyber-attacks nearly every day,’ spokeswoman for JPMorgan, Patricia Wexler has stated. “We have multiple layers of defense to counteract any threats and constantly monitor fraud levels.” But in one of the attacks, it is said that hackers obtained “sensitive” data from bank executives. And since the stock has fallen 15 cents in New York trading this week, it is possible that the attack on such a large bank is now considered to be not a federal one, but one of national security. JP Morgan Chase & Co sign outside headquarters in New York Since the US and European sanctions have transformed how Western banks cooperate with Russia, JPMorgan has been reportedly criticized by the Russian critics. It is believed and now currently investigated as to whether or not retaliatory attacks have occurred as these Western sanctions increase. In the past, the US government linked similar instances against banking institutions to Iran, in 2012 and 2013, with Obama seen to shut down “attack points in Europe and elsewhere.” [3] Now, the FBI are investigating Russian hackers. What remains to be seen is how an attack that is “…far beyond the capability of ordinary hackers…” according to Bloomberg, has been directly linked to Russia. The Wall Street Journal also cited anonymous sources, stating this was a “significant breach of corporate computer security.” [4] JPMorgan has released their plans to spend $250 million on cybersecurity this year. But rather than worry about the Russian nation hacking their defenses, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan Chase may have been undone by one single person – an employee – where the hackers may have appeared to have found their way into a personal computer. [5]
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 02:11:06 +0000
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