Group Threatens Cyber Attack Against PNC Financial Services
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Could PNC be the next target of a cyber bank attack?
A group which claims to be responsible for the attacks, stated that PNC Financial Services will be hit Thursday.
Fred Solomon, a spokesperson for PNC, said: "PNC is aware of the threat for tomorrow and is taking appropriate precautions."
He adds that their systems are operating normally. Solomon, however, said that some customers on Wednesday reported intermittent problems accessing PNC.com on the first try.
KDKA's David Highfield reports:
Mark Rodgers of McCandless was apparently among that group.
"I had gone on to PNC Bank's website to look at a recent transaction, and when I did, you could tell the server was getting hung up," he said.
JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America are among the banks that have already been hit.
"What the bad guys are trying to do is cut off access to those websites," said David Brumley, a cyber-security expert at Carnegie Mellon University. "They're just trying to jam up the sites. Gives it more information that it can really handle."
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., said on C-SPAN last week that he believes it's not just some hacker behind the attacks. He believes Iran is behind them, and that they could be in response to sanctions against Iranian financial institutions.
However, a group claiming responsibility online reportedly stated that the attacks would continue until a video insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad is taken off the Internet.
The good news is that Brumley says neither your money nor your information is at risk.
"The important thing to remember is that the information inside is still protected," said Brumley. "People's credit card numbers, bank information – that's all safe."
KDKA's Ross Guidotti reports:
RELATED LINKS
More Local News
More Business News
