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UPDATE: Chase Bank's website back up after being shut down by Islamist hackers
Chase Bank's website was taken down Tuesday, March 12, 2013 by a denial-of-service attack.
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UPDATE April 1, 11:36 a.m.: The site went down again several weeks later; more details here.
UPDATE 7 p.m.: Following a denial-of-service attack by an Islamist hacking organization, Chase's website appeared to be back up late Tuesday evening after being down for most of the day.
We apologize for the inconvenience with the website today and we'll post updates as we receive them. We'll be back at 7AM ET to assist. ^PG
— Chase Support (@ChaseSupport) March 13, 2013
Previously: A denial-of-service hacking attack took down Chase Bank’s website Tuesday, Chase has confirmed to several news organizations. An Islamist hacking organization has claimed responsibility.
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The hacking group al-Qassam Cyber Fighters has taken responsibility for the attacks. They announced plans to attack U.S. banks several months ago, with targets including Citibank, Capitol One and Bank of America.
The reason? What they say is a refusal by the U.S. to remove the YouTube video "Innocence of Muslims," which depicts the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a murderer and a pedophile.
The hackers say that, for the attacks to stop, either "Innocence of Muslims" must be removed from YouTube or United States banks must pay according to the following formula:
T = total views;
L = total likes;
D = total Dislikes;
DF = Dislike factor = 10;
C = Approximate Cost on US banks per each DDoS minute = 30000$
---> ( if you think we are wrong then don't hesitate to tell us )
CF = Amount that US banks must pay for each view/like = 100$ ( based on al-Qassam jury's sentence )
TC = Total Cost US banks should pay for the insult = (T+L-DF*D) * CF
{ if ( TC < 0 ) then TC = (S*C*3) /* i.e. if those URLs yet exist then loop must continue even with a lot of dislikes*/ }
TM = total minute we shall do DDoS to fulfill our duty = TC/C
S = Average DDoS success rate per day = 7 hours = 420 minutes
===> TD = Total days we shall be busy DDoSing US banks = TM/S
PD = Total days passed already = (total busy weeks) * (busy days per week)
REM = Remained days we shall be busy DDoSing US banks = TD-PD
{ if ( REM < 3 and TC > 0 ) then REM = 3 /* i.e. if those urls yet exist then loop must continue even when all costs paid*/ }
*ALERT* Chase Online is experiencing intermittent issues. We are working to resolve and will keep you updated.
— Chase Support (@ChaseSupport) March 12, 2013
The site’s problems have continued throughout the day.
*ALERT* We continue to work on getting Chase Online back to full speed. In the meantime, pls. use the Chase Mobile app or stop by a branch.
— Chase Support (@ChaseSupport) March 12, 2013
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However, the Chase mobile app has also been experiencing difficulties.
The hacking group behind the attacks has labeled themselves as the cyber wing of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, which the U.S. government has labeled a terrorist organization.
(Note: The @Chase account is actually a third party that retweets tweets about Chase; Chase’s official Twitter feeds are @ChaseNews and @ChaseSupport.)
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
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