Banks to Launch New Tool to Fight Hackers: Report

A group of cyber-security firms funded by big banks plan to launch a platform that will allow financial companies to communicate faster about potential cyber breaches, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The move follows cyber-security attacks on some big banks last month, where JPMorgan Chase & Co's computer systems were hacked exposing the contact details of 73 million households and 7 million small businesses.

The group gathered funds from 16 banks including JPMorgan, Citigroup Inc , BB&T Corp and U.S. Bancorp, to help lead the effort, the newspaper said.

The product, called 'Soltra Edge', is being launched by Financial Services Information Sharing Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp (DTCC). It has been in works for more than a year and is expected to be out next month, the report said.

Earlier this year, JP Morgan said it expects to spend more than $250 million on cyber-security, with about 1,000 people working on that area, after being warned by US regulators about the threat of rising cyber-attacks on bank machines.

A pilot version of Soltra was used in spreading the information received by FS-ISAC from JPMorgan after the breach, the Journal said, citing sources.

Soltra, which offers a free edition as well as a paid one, will help track threat information within seconds, a spokesman for Soltra told Reuters.

FS-ISAC and DTCC could not be reached immediately for comments outside regular U.S. business hours.

© Thomson Reuters 2014