US probing cyberattacks on banks

The FBI it is working with the Secret Service to determine the scope of recently reported cyberattacks against several U.S. financial institutions.

"We are working with the United States Secret Service to determine the scope of recently reported cyber attacks against several American financial institutions," FBI spokesman Joshua Campbell said in a statement late on Wednesday.

He did not name any firms or give further details. A Secret Service spokesman could not be reached for comment.

The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, said JPMorgan Chase and at least four other firms were hit this month by coordinated attacks that siphoned off huge amounts of data, including checking and savings account information.

JPMorgan Chase & Co was the victim of a recent cyber attack, according to two people familiar with the incident who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. They declined to elaborate on the severity of the incident, saying JPMorgan was still conducting an investigation to determine what happened. JPMorgan is the largest U.S. bank by assets.

JPMorgan spokesman Brian Marchiony declined comment when asked about the attack.

“Companies of our size unfortunately experience cyber attacks nearly every day. We have multiple, layers of defense to counteract any threats and constantly monitor fraud levels,” he said in a statement.

Bloomberg first reported the cyberattacks, saying on Wednesday that the FBI is investigating an incident in which Russian hackers attacked the U.S financial system this month in possible retaliation against U.S. government-sponsored sanctions aimed at Russia.

The attack, Bloomberg said, led to the loss of sensitive data. Bloomberg cited security experts saying that the attack appeared "far beyond the capability of ordinary criminal hackers."

According to people familiar with the probe who were cited by Bloomberg, investigators have determined that the attacks were routed through computers in Latin America and other regions via servers used by Russian hackers

The attackers stole large quantities of data, including checking and savings account information, though their motivation is not yet clear, according to the Times report, which said several private security firms have been hired to conduct forensic reviews of infected networks.

Wire services