Hackers hit U.S. banks, including JP Morgan, steal customer data, sources say

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Several U.S. banks, JPMorgan Chase and at least four others, were struck by hackers in a series of coordinated attacks this month, according to four people familiar with an investigation into the crimes.

The hackers infiltrated the networks of the banks, siphoning off gigabytes of data, including checking and savings account information, in what security experts described as a sophisticated cyberattack.

The intrusions were first reported by Bloomberg, which indicated that they were the work of Russian hackers in retaliation for sanctions on Russia over its involvement in the Ukraine conflict. Government officials said they had not yet made that conclusion.

The FBI is involved in the investigation, and in the past few weeks several security firms have been assigned to conduct forensic studies of the penetrated computer networks.

The attack led to the theft of customer data that could be used to drain accounts, according to a person briefed by U.S. law enforcement, who asked not to be identified because the investigation is continuing.

JPMorgan hasn't reported any unusual activity or fraud thus far.

"Companies of our size unfortunately experience cyberattacks nearly every day," said Patricia Wexler, a JPMorgan spokesman. "We have multiple layers of defense to counteract any threats and constantly monitor fraud levels."

J. Peter Donald, an FBI spokesman in New York, declined to comment, citing the current investigation.

Information for this article was contributed by staff members of Bloomberg News.

A Section on 08/28/2014