The
hackers breached the computer system of JPMorgan Chase and stole the personal information of millions of customers soon be caught. The investigation is being done by the Federal investigators for the hackers who are responsible for the last summer’s hack on the bank. The investigators declined to say exactly when arrests could be made, but the Times says a case could be filed “in the coming months.”
JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the US. Last summer, the hackers targeted the bank and gained access to the contact information of 76 million households and 7 million small businesses. According to JPMorgan Chase, the information comprised names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses, and did not include account numbers, Social Security numbers or other sensitive data.
According to an internal analysis of the bank’s security discovered that by the end of 2014 the bank had made “significant progress” in reducing “severe patch issues” in its digital network, but even now had critical issues to address. The New York Times reviewed a copy of the bank’s cybersecurity business control committee and reported that one server was not having the latest antivirus protection.
The bank’s network contains patching holes that are critical because hackers exploited these vulnerabilities and got overall access to JPMorgan. Then the attackers breached a server that had not been upgraded to the latest antivirus protection. The server was not using the Double authentication schemes standard that requires second one-time password. In the absence of second requirement password, attackers breached a server using the stolen login credentials for a bank employee.
After getting high-level access to more than 90 servers, the hackers were stopped before they could transfer customers’ financial information to their servers abroad. It was a severe attack against a bank and a warning sign that the American financial system is susceptible to vulnerabilities.
The attack was not as suave as initially believed, still the JPMorgan investigation is being handled at the highest levels of law enforcement and law enforcement authorities had identified at least some suspects. Law enforcement officials also notified that the Department of Homeland Security has declared the banking system critical infrastructure, requiring additional protection from digital attacks.
JPMorgan now conducts a routine view to make sure that high security access is justified for a particular person. The bank has also limited “high security access” to bank employees who are responsible to submit annual credit screenings and criminal background checks.