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U.S. Warns of Possible Cyber Biz Attack

Posted by Zonk on from the rather-that-not-happen dept.

mikesd81 writes "The AP has an article about a possible attack against the New York Stock Exchange via the internet by a radical muslim group. The notice was issued to the U.S. cybersecurity industry after officials saw a posting on a 'Jihadist Web site' calling for an attack on U.S. Internet-based stock market and banking sites in December, said Homeland Security Department spokesman Russ Knocke. Knocke has said: 'There is no information corroborating the threat and that the alert was issued as a routine matter and out of an abundance of caution.' There is no immediate threat to our homeland at this time. The attacks were to be conducted in December, 'until the infidel new year,' the site said, according to a U.S. government translation. It called for attackers to use viruses that can penetrate Internet sites and destroy data stored there. Spokespeople for the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq declined to comment on the cyber-terror threat."

6 of 179 comments (clear)

  1. Advertising attacks? by haluness · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How seriously can you take would be crackers who go around blabbing about an upcoming attack?

    Sheesh, and the media just have to take it up. They even contradict themselves in the same paragraph!

    1. Re:Advertising attacks? by shadow349 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      How seriously can you take would be crackers who go around blabbing about an upcoming attack?

      I think this quote from Sneakers sums it up nicely:

      Cosmo: Posit: People think a bank might be financially shaky.
      Martin Bishop: Consequence: People start to withdraw their money.
      Cosmo: Result: Pretty soon it is financially shaky.
      Martin Bishop: Conclusion: You can make banks fail.
      Cosmo: Bzzt. I've already done that. Maybe you've heard about a few? Think bigger.
      Martin Bishop: Stock market?
      Cosmo: Yes.
      Martin Bishop: Currency market?
      Cosmo: Yes.
      Martin Bishop: Commodities market?
      Cosmo: Yes.
      Martin Bishop: Small countries?

    2. Re:Advertising attacks? by diersing · · Score: 2, Interesting
      There is no information corroborating the threat
      the alert was issued as a routine matter and out of an abundance of caution
      There is no immediate threat to our homeland at this time
      The title of TFA is "U.S. Warns of Possible Cyber Biz Attack" but the article is full of back tracking and spin. There will come a point when they issue so many warning that people tune out and the valid warnings will lose value, I recall a fable about a boy and wolf. 9/11 didn't happen because someone didn't act on a couple memos (amongst tens of thousands), 9/11 happened for a lot of reasons (some decades in the making) and fear mongering by the constant issue of warnings is only aimed to keep the masses in a state of fear. You can't go out and enjoy your life, not without Terror Insurance (6 month premiums start as low as 75.99, call this toll free number.

      When Bush says FREE Market, he means FEAR Market. - now that's strategry at its finest.

  2. Yawn by davidwr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So the banks will have a higher-than-normal amount of crack-attempts this month, and a proportionately-higher number of successful ones.

    ok, so if serious breakin attempts go up 10%, and there's a small number of successful breakins every month, that's *punchpunchpunchding* a very small number of additional successful breakins.

    The bottom line - your bank's web site may be a little slower to respond, and you may get a little more spam-email "from your bank" this month. Otherwise, business as usual.

    Happy shopping everyone.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
    1. Re:Yawn by MrAnnoyanceToYou · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If there's anything about America I have faith in, it's the ability of the financial system to perpetuate itself. The only thing that could possibly drag it down (short term) at this point would be Microsoft going rogue and having a back door into everything they used to rip the entire system apart...

      Fortunately /unfortunately enough, I don't think they're organizationally capable of this.

      --
      My little site.
  3. Not gonna happen by 31415926535897 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This is a very funny attack. All of the important network connections, those that allow the NYSE and other exchanges to operate, and connections between them and brokers are not on the Internet. There are connections from the NYSE to the Internet, but they are not needed for trading (it's for when the traders are bored, they can look at porn). This group would definitely need somebody working on the inside to do any real damage.

    The best these groups could do are take down the websites of discount brokerages (E*Trade, Ameritrade, etc.), but that won't have one bit of impact on the financial markets. Even if those websites go down, the brokerages will still have their direct connections to the exchanges, so if you can call your broker, you'll still get your trade through.

    I wish them the best of luck, because their attack is an exercise in futility.