Are we currenly experiencing an attack on our financial networks?

[Chico Man]

Does the China crash have anything to do with it?

Over the past few days, I've experienced several oddities while conducing e-business transactions.

First of all, I was billed from FEDEX for an $80.00 shipment that I did not make. FEDEX's explanation was a scanning error.
Secondly, I was ordering a laptop for my mother on dell.com and somehow the billing information was "switched" to an unknown third party by a "systems error."
Thirdly, sovereignbank.com online banking system has been down all day, due to "a major disruption in telecommunication transmission lines."
Fourthly, the stock market crash tho other day crippled several online trading sites due to the high volume of trading. I was unable to login to fidelity.com for quite a while.
Finally, reports of this RINBOT virus hit the news, here: http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/01/news/companies/virus/index.htm?cnn=yes

What the hell is going on? Is anyone else having any difficulties?

Perhaps the next phase of the war on terrorism will involve our incredibly vulnerable advanced computing networks, that have become the backbone of the American economy?

Imagine a weapon that was able to randomly scramble online financial data, thereby rendering faith in the system useless? It would be far more devastating than 9/11..

[uppityperson]

1. I keep getting Nigerian scam offers and paypal phishing

nothing else. kick to mark so I can find to look at later.

[meegbear]

2. Looks like the work of a disgruntled Penis Enlargement employee

[lvx35]

3. WAY more devastating than 9/11.

All it takes is for the faith in the system to be sufficiently damaged for the downward spiral to begin.

[T Wolf]

4. What makes you think it is "our" financial network?

Virtually nothing happens in the financial world that is not controlled by those on top of the food chain. It exists solely for the benefit of those who run things.

If we happen to get a little benefit out of it, that is just something they are willing to put up with until they figure out how to remove that benefit.

[Marie26]

5. Big problem

I found out half of my ING savings account was emptied out & sent to some third party investment company. I NEVER authorized this, & don't have any accounts at that inv. company. When I called & complained, they said there must have been some security error, and that no one else should have been able to withdraw money from the account. I had to create a seperate account to preserve what was left from further unauthorized withdraws while they investigated the transaction. Now, mysteriously, the missing money is back in my old account. It's very very weird. I agree that it seems like there's something screwy w/electronic financial transmissions.

[Ian David]

6. Chinese hackers assault US systems

Security News
20 February 2007
By Matthew Broersma, Techworld

Attacks by Chinese hackers on US military computer infrastructure have reached the level of sustained cyber-warfare, and are likely to be government-backed, a senior US Navy official said last week.

The Naval Network Warfare Command official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Chinese attacks far outnumber those from any other nation in frequency and sophistication, according to a report in Federal Computer Week.

"They will exploit anything and everything," the official said, according to the report. The attacks are so deliberate that "it's hard to believe it's not government-driven".

The report is the latest warning on the vulnerability of government systems to organised attacks from China. The most serious such attack against UK government targets occurred at the end of 2005, when messages exploiting an unpatched Windows WMF flaw were sent to around 70 recipients in parliament and other parts of the government. The attacks were later traced back to China, though government involvement was never confirmed.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Defence admitted its systems have been penetrated at least nine times since 2002, with five of the successful attacks taking place last year.

More:
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsid=8071

[louis-t]

7. Jeez,China practically owns this country, now this?

Insult to injury.

[Chico Man]

8. A weapon to render modern computer security infrastructure obsolete

Would be our generations version of the atomic bomb.

I wonder about the humanitarian consequences of total financial collapse?

Are there contingency plans in place to bring business back on-line?

Our level of sophistication would seem to prevent most contingency plans from being realistic. An attack on the security infrastructure, in particular, would have catastrophic consequences that I suppose would eventually trickle down to an environment of anarchy.

Imagine untraceable random financial record modifications. Once the word gets out, what happens? Everyone tries to take cash out? The government would have to shut down the banks. Total chaos.

[Karenina]

9. The saber rattling against Iran

has ZIP to do with NU-CU-LAR doo-dah and EVERYTHING to do with destroying their infrastructure to blow out their ONLINE EURO-BASED STOCK EXCHANGE.