WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, recently issued an advisory about a possible cyber attack on U.S. financial institutions.
Bloomberg reported that a warning went out to financial institutions recently on the potential for an attack on computer systems, but had "no information to corroborate" the seriousness of the threat.
DHS issued the advisory based on a Web site posting for a group called al-Firdaws urging an attack on financial institutions, a DHS official who spoke with Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity said. The group is related to al-Qaeda, according to the Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
A Homeland Security Department spokesman called the posting "a relatively unsophisticated threat and something that these institutions are well fortified for."
