Cyber Attack On PNC's Online Banking Slows Customer Access

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Bob Williams of Edgewood is one of thousands of PNC customers who enjoy the bank's online banking system -- until recently.

"What just happened?" KDKA money editor Jon Delano asked Williams as he tried to log on to the PNC online banking website.

"I got a pop-up saying Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage," said Williams.

Delano: "So you can't get on to your bank?"

Williams: "Correct."

Heidi Bartholomew, of the North Side, couldn't get on PNC's website for two days, then did once, but couldn't get back on.

"You don't need it until you need it," said Bartholomew. "And when you do, you want to be able to get your information, but I guess it's a pretty bad problem."

PNC says nothing is wrong with its Internet or cyber security systems, telling KDKA-TV, "There are no internal issues with PNC's systems. A number of large American banks, including PNC, have experienced high volume of traffic at Internet connections, crowding out legitimate customers."

The bank won't talk about it now, but last September on CNBC's Squawk Box Jim Rohr, PNC's CEO acknowledged a cyber-attack .

"We had 38-straight hours of attacks on our systems, and we had the longest attack of all the banks," said Rohr. "And they just pummeled us, and now they're talking about -- they've sourced it from Iran -- but you know what it did in our case, it dramatically slowed our processes."

PNC is one of nine large banks apparently targeted by a group called the al-Qassam Cyber Fighters. This group, who says they are offended by an anti-Muslim video on YouTube, tries to overload the bank's website with repeated hits so that regular customers can't get online.

Customers say, if the problem is not fixed soon, it will cost PNC their business.

Williams: "At the end of the day, if I have an online banking system with PNC, and I can't access it, then it is no value to me."

Delano: "You would switch banks?"

Williams: "I would have to."

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Group Threatens Cyber Attack Against PNC Financial Services (9/28/12)
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