Banks to launch new tool to fight hackers: WSJ

A group of cybersecurity 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 cybersecurity 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 U.S. 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.