ETrade, ANZ Bank's online broking business, shuttered its Web site over the holidays because of an offshore cyber attack.

The company said it shuttered its trading portal because of thousands of e-mails that bombarded the Web site in a denial-of-service attack. ETrade customers who attempted to access the site overseas noticed the lockout after the firm shut off access to all overseas users. In some place, the shutdown lasted for almost two weeks.

However, clients in Australia had on-and-off access to the trading site on Dec. 19 and 20.

Access by ETrade clients overseas was eventually restored after risk assessments were performed on individual countries.

"We responded immediately to minimise any disruption to our clients and ensure our date remained secure. ... We were able to assist customers that made contract to execute trades. ... At no stage was security of the ETrade site breached," the firm assured clients in a statement.

The financial and insurance industry is the frequent target of cyber attacks because of its heavy reliance on ICT, according to an Australian Institute of Criminology paper released in 2011.

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