American Express customers trying to gain access to their online accounts Thursday were met with blank screens or an ominous ancient type face.
The company confirmed that its Web site had come under attack.
The assault, which took American Express offline for two hours, was the latest in an intensifying campaign of unusually powerful attacks on American financial institutions that began last September and have taken dozens of them offline intermittently, costing millions of dollars.
JPMorgan Chase was taken offline by a similar attack this month. And last week, a separate, aggressive attack incapacitated 32,000 computers at South Korea’s banks and television networks.
The culprits of these attacks, officials and experts say, appear intent on disabling financial transactions and operations.
Corporate leaders have long feared online attacks aimed at financial fraud or economic espionage, but now a new threat has taken hold: attackers, possibly with state backing, who seem bent on destruction.
“The attacks have changed from espionage to destruction,” said Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, a cybersecurity training organization. “Nations are actively testing how far they can go before we will respond.”
Security experts who studied the attacks said that it was part of the same campaign that took down the Web sites of JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and others over the last six months. A group that calls itself the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters has claimed responsibility for those attacks.
The group says it is retaliating for an anti-Islamic video posted on YouTube last fall. But American intelligence officials and industry investigators say they believe the group is a convenient cover for Iran. Just how tight the connection is — or whether the group is acting on direct orders from the Iranian government — is unclear. Government officials and bank executives have failed to produce a smoking gun.
North Korea is considered the most likely source of the attacks on South Korea, though investigators are struggling to follow the digital trail, a process that could take months. The North Korean government of Kim Jong-un has openly declared that it is seeking online targets in its neighbor to the south to exact economic damage.
Representatives of American Express confirmed that the company was under attack Thursday, but said that there was no evidence that customer data had been compromised. A representative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not respond to a request for comment on the American Express attack.
Spokesmen for JPMorgan Chase said they would not talk about the recent attack there, its origins or its consequences. JPMorgan has openly acknowledged previous denial of service attacks. But the size and severity of the most recent one apparently led it to reconsider.
The Obama administration has publicly urged companies to be more transparent about attacks, but often security experts and lawyers give the opposite advice.
The largest contingent of instigators of attacks in the private sector, government officials and researchers say, remains Chinese hackers intent on stealing corporate secrets.
The Latest Bing News on:
Cyberattacks
- Cyberattacks are on the rise, planning for retirement and Chicago loses its 'rat hole'on April 27, 2024 at 4:00 am
On the version of Hot off the Wire posted April 20 at 6 a.m. CT: Each Saturday Hot off the Wire looks at a variety of stories in business, science, ...
- Cyberattacks on Poland surged after election of pro-Ukraine government, NetScout sayson April 26, 2024 at 12:43 am
DDoS attacks on Ukraine surged after last year's change of government. NetScout tied the surge in cyberattacks to support for Ukraine ...
- Philippines Pummeled by Assortment of Cyberattacks & Misinformation Tied to Chinaon April 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The cyberattacks consist of a combination of hack and leak (55%), distributed denial-of-service (10%), and misinformation and influence campaigns (35%), according to researchers at Resecurity who have ...
- Cisco warns of state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting government networkson April 24, 2024 at 4:15 pm
Cisco Systems Inc. today warned that a suspected national-state actor has been actively targeting two previously unknown security vulnerabilities in Cisco products since November to breach government ...
- Feds charge Iranian nationals for cyberattacks against US governmenton April 24, 2024 at 2:12 pm
The US government has charged and sanctioned four Iranian nationals over claims they carried out a yearslong hacking campaign against US government agencies and companies. It also accuses the group of ...
- 2023: A 'Good' Year for OT Cyberattackson April 24, 2024 at 11:21 am
In spite of this underestimate, cyberattacks that met the inclusion criteria continue to increase, nearly doubling annually since 2019. This is a big change from 2010–2019, when OT attacks with ...
- How the Target and Uber cyberattacks from years ago shaped public perception of cybersecurity todayon April 24, 2024 at 8:22 am
The high-profile hackings of Target in 2013 and Uber in 2016 brought put cybersecurity in the national spotlight. However, cyberthreats since then have only grown more sophisticated.
- An Ex-DOD Hacker Raises $20 Million To Stop ChatGPT-Fueled Cyberattackson April 24, 2024 at 6:00 am
A cyber startup founded by an ex-Pentagon hacker announces a $20 million raise and a presidential candidate as a customer.
- Bipartisan lawmakers seek answers from Mayorkas after Russian cyberattacks on water systems in USon April 23, 2024 at 7:14 pm
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called for a briefing from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on water system protection against hackers.
- Cyberattacks are on the rise, and that includes small businesses. Here's what to knowon April 23, 2024 at 7:43 am
Cyberattacks on businesses are rising, including small businesses. It's a troubling trend because a breach can be very costly and time consuming if owners don't have a plan to deal with one. According ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Cyberattacks
[google_news title=”” keyword=”cyberattacks” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”] [/vc_column_text]The Latest Bing News on:
Denial-of-service attack
- BeyondTrust Report: Microsoft Security Vulnerabilities Decreased by 5% in 2023on April 26, 2024 at 6:22 pm
Refreshed software and collaboration with the security researcher community may have contributed to the 5% drop.
- Cyber Assault on United Russia Party Initiated by Ukrainian Military Intelligenceon April 26, 2024 at 12:52 pm
Contribute to unbiased Ukrainian reporting. Become part of our mission. Join as a member Offer single-time support On April 26, Ukraine’s military intelligence unit executed a major cyber offensive ...
- Ransomware Trends: What Businesses Need To Knowon April 26, 2024 at 7:30 am
In 2024, protecting client data is becoming as important for a company’s reputation as flight safety is for an airline’s reputation.
- What is a DNS water torture attack and why are they on the rise?on April 26, 2024 at 7:23 am
15% increase in DDoS attacks in second half of 2023 vs the first half 2023, totaling over 7 million attacks 10x rise in daily hacktivist DDoS attacks between the first half and second half of 2023 553 ...
- Washington’s Telecom Cop Seeks New Beat: Cybersecurityon April 26, 2024 at 6:03 am
The FCC’s net-neutrality rules argue for a more active role defending cable and wireless networks from online threats.
- 5 Attack Trends Organizations of All Sizes Should Be Monitoringon April 25, 2024 at 2:34 pm
Recent trends in breaches and attack methods offer a valuable road map to cybersecurity professionals tasked with detecting and preventing the next big thing.
- DDoS attacks in 2023: More frequent, more sophisticated, and more disruptiveon April 25, 2024 at 5:23 am
Netscout's comprehensive analysis sheds light on the alarming increase in cyber attacks targeting key industries. DDoS attacks in 2023: More frequent, more sophisticated, and more disruptive.
- Cisco Warns of Brute Force Attacks Targeting VPNs and Firewallson April 19, 2024 at 12:02 pm
Cisco has revealed that a global increase in brute force attacks targeting Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and other devices is currently taking place.
- DDoS attacks saw a huge surge in the first part of 2024, with one particular country badly hiton April 17, 2024 at 4:10 am
Distributed denial of service ( DDoS) attacks saw a significant increase during the first quarter of 2024, with one European country being particularly badly hit, new research has claimed.
- Cisco warns of large-scale credential compromise attack that’s likely to get biggeron April 16, 2024 at 2:30 pm
Cisco’s Talos security team is warning of a large-scale credential compromise campaign that’s indiscriminately assailing networks with login attempts aimed at gaining unauthorized access to VPN, SSH, ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Denial-of-service attack
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Denial-of-service attack” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]