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Federal agencies trying to figure out cause of BofA web problems

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Multiple federal agencies say they're trying to figure out whether cyber terrorism caused Bank of America's web problems.

Go on the bank's website and you've probably gotten error messages or a lot of waiting as the page tries to load.  Some reports think cyber terrorists may have had a hand in it, so Eyewitness News called Sen. Joe Lieberman's office.  He sits on the Senate Homeland Security Committee.  Moments later, he brought up the topic during one of its hearings.

He asked, "My staff just handed me a note that said that Reuters news service is just reporting that Bank of America's website has suffered...problems amid threats on the Internet that a group was planning to launch cyber attacks on the bank and on the New York Stock Exchange, again, a retaliation for [the American made film that surfaced last week that mocks Islam].  Do any of you know anything about that at this at this point?"

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said, "There has been some ongoing activity, attribution, whether it's retaliatory has yet to be determined."

The National Counterterrorism Center's Matthew Olsen said, "I will just add we were familiar with these reports as of last night, so there's been ongoing efforts in this regard."

FBI Associate Deputy Director Kevin Perkins said, "We're working with DHS in that matter, but beyond that point right now, I really can't share a great deal of detail as we look into it."

While they do that, people who bank online, even with banks other than Bank of America, are on alert.

"I don't want anyone else taking my money," Katie Halloway said.

"A lot of people talk about hacking and how people get through the wireless and stuff like that," Danielle Joe said.

Bank of America emailed Eyewitness News, saying, "I can assure you that our customer and client information, our on-line banking platform and the related systems remain safe and secure. Our on-line banking services have been, and continue to be, up and running. The vast majority of our customers did not experience any issues [Tuesday].  For any customer who experienced an issue, we addressed their needs as quickly as possible, using all of our service channels including ATMs, banking centers and contact centers."