JPMorgan Attack Hit 10 Financial Firms

Hackers likely working from Russia: report
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 4, 2014 3:06 PM CDT
JPMorgan Attack Hit 10 Financial Firms
JPMorgan Chase was just one of about 10 banks hacked in a recent attack.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

The hacking of JPMorgan Chase—which was on par, size-wise, with the attack on Target—affected about nine other financial companies, too, the New York Times reports. Exactly which banks and brokerages those were isn't clear, nor is it certain if those breaches were as extensive as JPMorgan's. It's looking like the attackers were working in Russia and may have some kind of link to the government there; as for a motive, it could be "retaliation for the sanctions" Russia has recently faced, an official tells the Times, echoing the FBI.

"But it could be mixed motives—to steal if they can, or to sell whatever information they could glean," the source adds. There's also the possibility that hackers were trying to reveal JPMorgan's weak security, officials say. By mid-August, the bank's security experts were able to end the attack, and though hackers obtained customer contact information, they didn't get their hands on those customers' "most sensitive" records, the Times notes. Officials and JPMorgan are still investigating the attack, and some in government are warning banks that this was a wake-up call. "There needs to be far more urgency" in dealing with such threats, says Connecticut's attorney general. (More JPMorgan Chase stories.)

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