Al Qaeda Cyber Attack? (Wizbang)

The US government has warned of possible al Qaeda cyber attacks against online stock trading and banking sites:

The source, a person familiar with the warning, said the Islamic militant group aimed to penetrate and destroy the databases of the U.S. financial sites.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed an alert had been distributed but said there was no reason to believe the threat was credible.

The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team issued a "situational awareness report to industry stakeholders," said Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke.

The warning said the threat called for attacks to begin Friday and run through the month of December in retaliation for the United States keeping terrorism suspects at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.

"Denial of service is what it called for," said a Homeland Security official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A person familiar with the warning said the threat came from a group calling itself "ANHIAR al-Dollar." The effort was related to al Qaeda and intended to avenge "Muslim brothers in the crusaders' Guantanamo prison camp," the source said.

They can't use real bombs, so they are forced to revert to cyber bombs.

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Comments (17)

My gosh! This is almost as ... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by jp2 | November 30, 2006 11:21 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

jp2:

My gosh! This is almost as scary as the DHS warning on fax machines and eco-terrorists!

Horrible tactics such as:
"sending continuous faxes in order to drain the ink supply from company fax machines"

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/dhs-extremists/?resultpage=1&

Posted on November 30, 2006 23:21

jp2, you'll be whining when... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by Tony | December 1, 2006 12:21 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Tony:

jp2, you'll be whining when one of the attacks hits your bank and you can't pay for your internet to whine on wizbang.

Posted on December 1, 2006 00:21

Ha ha ha! Good one Tony ,... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by Rob LA Ca. | December 1, 2006 5:53 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Rob LA Ca.:

Ha ha ha! Good one Tony ,lol.

Posted on December 1, 2006 05:53

"They can't use real bombs,... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by Timmer | December 1, 2006 6:33 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Timmer:

"They can't use real bombs, so they are forced to revert to cyber bombs."

If they were successful, it would be more financially devastating than 9/11. I don't know about you all, but I do almost everything online these days.

Posted on December 1, 2006 06:33

So long as they don't take ... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by Steve Niles | December 1, 2006 7:32 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Steve Niles:

So long as they don't take away my porn, I couldn't give a crap. It's defending people in the real world that is my Presidents duty, not some faggot cyber geek.

-Steve Niles

Posted on December 1, 2006 07:32

Unfortunately a lot more da... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by Matt | December 1, 2006 9:34 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Matt:

Unfortunately a lot more damage can be done to the U.S. Econmy through the use of "cyber bombs" than through the use of conventional bombs. You don't have to martyr yourself to apply them either.

Blaming Al-Quaeda for something like this would make nice cover for other countries/entities that would like to do us grevious economic harm.

For this kind of attack, those "Cyber Geeks," are the first line of defense, and some are very, very good.

Posted on December 1, 2006 09:34

This isn't even a real thre... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by PoliticalCritic | December 1, 2006 10:55 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

PoliticalCritic:

This isn't even a real threat. It's just something Al Qaeda wants to do, not something they can actually make good on.

If the threat isn't credible, as they say, why release it to the public?

Posted on December 1, 2006 10:55

Well shucks boys, you got m... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by Rob Hackney | December 1, 2006 11:56 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Rob Hackney:

Well shucks boys, you got me! HAHAHAHA

Posted on December 1, 2006 11:56

On the other hand, wouldn't... (Below threshold)

9. Posted by LJD | December 1, 2006 11:57 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

LJD:

On the other hand, wouldn't it also affect the NYT, CNN propaganda machine in some part?

Posted on December 1, 2006 11:57

Actually, I work at a bank.... (Below threshold)

10. Posted by Daniel | December 1, 2006 12:09 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Daniel:

Actually, I work at a bank. We're pretty dang small (only 3 branches total), but we back up all of our information every night. I'm sure larger banks back things up at least that often, so unless al-Qaeda also physically breaks into the buildings where the backup servers are and destroys those, this should be nothing more than a nuisance.

Posted on December 1, 2006 12:09

You can get a DSL line run ... (Below threshold)

11. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | December 1, 2006 2:01 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

SCSIwuzzy:

You can get a DSL line run into a cave or spider hole... we truly live in an age of techno-wonders

Posted on December 1, 2006 14:01

How many pairs of underwear... (Below threshold)

12. Posted by jp2 | December 1, 2006 4:51 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

How many pairs of underwear do you guys go through in a week?

Don't be so scared - we'll be ok.

Posted on December 1, 2006 16:51

Uh, jp2, dear, who's acting... (Below threshold)

13. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | December 1, 2006 6:53 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Uh, jp2, dear, who's acting scared?
Seriously, ignore your preconceived narrative for once and evaluate things on their merits.

Posted on December 1, 2006 18:53

Seriously, ignore your p... (Below threshold)

14. Posted by Brian | December 1, 2006 9:58 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Brian:

Seriously, ignore your preconceived narrative for once and evaluate things on their merits.

OK, let's. A denial of service attack? Puh-lease. That's something 12 year olds do for fun. It's the equivalent of phoning a bank over and over so no customers can get through. Or tying up the phones of a Democratic campaign office.

Yes, a DoS attack can effectively disable a server so you can't connect to it. That is, until the bank's IT guy notices and routes around it. Oh, the horror!

Conservatives should learn a bit more about what frightens them before crapping their pants.

Posted on December 1, 2006 21:58

Brian, again, who is acting... (Below threshold)

15. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | December 2, 2006 2:00 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Brian, again, who is acting scared? You and your little pal jp2 are the only two engaging in hyperbole. The next closest thing is Timmer stating that cyber attack could be more than a minor inconvenience.
Seriously. Point out who is acting so scared. Or can you?

Posted on December 2, 2006 14:00

Buncha worrywarts. Next thi... (Below threshold)

16. Posted by Don'tConsiderThePossibilites;BuryYourHead | December 3, 2006 4:32 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Don'tConsiderThePossibilites;BuryYourHead:

Buncha worrywarts. Next thing you know, you're going to say they're going to try to highjack jumbo jets and fly them into skyscrapers. Or leave bombs on busses or trains.

Yeah, right. They would never try to do that.

Posted on December 3, 2006 16:32

So, the answer is "No, I ca... (Below threshold)

17. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | December 3, 2006 4:56 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

So, the answer is "No, I cannot back up my bullshit"

Posted on December 3, 2006 16:56

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