"They overwhelm a victim's phones so that the bank can't call the victim and the victim can't call them, " says Timothy Ryan, supervisor for the cyber-investigations unit of the FBI's Newark, N.

WSJ: Hack Attack: How to Protect Your Online Accounts

Ten months after the George Washington University incident, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner traveled to Capitol Hill to testify before Mr. Ryan's panel about the White House's proposed budget for fiscal year 2013.

WSJ: For White House and Ryan, Deficit Became Personal