26 Jul Cyberattacks on Nasdaq, Wall Street Becomes Serious

Yesterday US prosecutors filed charges against five Eastern European men. They are accused of hacking into computers at Nasdaq and a bunch of major Wall Street companies. It appears the government believes they stole over 160 million credit card numbers. They are calling it the largest identity theft group they’ve ever gone after. While the hackers did not get into the main Nasdaq systems that operate trading, some feel they got pretty darn close and it might just be a matter of time before they succeed.

This is a significant concern. Some say the next major terrorist attack will be upon our computer systems. There is much that can be done to continue to protect the Internet and privacy. But as with protecting airports, train stations and hotels, as NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg likes to say, we have to be right every time and they only have to be right once.  The major Northeast blackout of 2003 reminded us how vulnerable our infrastructure and systems can be.

The US government and our financial institutions should redouble their efforts in cyber-security. As with any enemy, hopefully we have the ability to start to track them down, bring them to justice and maybe even have them bring us their compatriots.