White House suspected Putin during advanced briefings on JP Morgan cyberattack

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- President Obama and the White House were aware of the massive cyberattack on JP Morgan and nine other financial institutions as part of newly implemented national security standards, but were unable to determine its source.

According to the New York Times, the new briefing practices aim "to keep top national security officials as updated on major cyberattacks as they are on Russian incursions into Ukraine or Islamic State attacks."

The identity and motives of the security breaches remain unknown three months after they began, a mystery that plagued national security officials for fear the attacks were part of a larger threat to national security.

"The question kept coming back, 'Is this plain old theft, or is Putin retaliating?'" an anonymous White House senior official told the Times.

"And the answer was: We don't know for sure.''