Slashdot Mirror
U.S. Warns of Possible Cyber Biz Attack
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."
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!
I can't wait to watch Dick Clark's Infifel New Year's Rockin' Eve!
-m
So, some joker on some website posts a piece about how people should release viruses to attack the stock exchange ... and our government issues an alert?
What happens when the same joker posts a call for nano-viruses to be released into our water supply to create a generation of flesh eating mutants from our own children?!?
Seriously, you deal with terrorism by NOT being afraid.
You do NOT deal with it by hyping every single fantasy that they can post.
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.
The news articles I have seen, read and heard all said there was "No Credible Evidence" that this was a real threat.
Save for the one slashdot finds and posts..
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.
Warning, that is. Don't you know we're at war! Americans aren't that good at hate, so we have to be given something to fear. Keeps the govt in business.
I heard about this in a news report yesterday. They said "there is no evidence that this is a threat, but the government is reporting..." uh, no evidence? So wtf? Let's just try to scare some people around xmas so they can remember that we are here to protect them when nothing happens.
It's almost impossible that a bunch of radicalists with relatively sophomoric computer skills could infiltrate the NYSE or the Nasdaq in any substantial way. This is akin to high schoolers joking on forums and IRC that they are going to hack into the school's computers and change grades. Sure it happens, but not typically by a bunch of attention-seeking kids, but usually by some kid that is smart enough he didn't need to do it, just wanted to see "if he can".
If these "hackers" really had a chance to impact the exchanges, it means they've found a vulnerability that the exchanges don't know about. Any smart (but malicious) hacker wouldn't tip their hand to such a find, they'd wait until D-day to launch their attack. Obviously the security folks at the exchanges should take the threat seriously and evaluate their systems for holes, but it would be bordering on the ridiculous for the rest of us to be worried.
Crack - Free with every butt and set of boobs
Comment removed based on user account deletion
It's amazing how much you can do with a single post on a single website when people are afraid of the dark.
Coming up next - Homeland Security issues alert after cousin's roommate's girlfriend heard from friend that man with turban was spotted in New York.
I don't EVER remember living in the "homeland" until the Bushista regime seized power. I still like to call this America myself. Former land of the free and brave. Now home of the politically blind and cowardly.
-"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o