SunGard Availability Services, the largest supplier of disaster recovery services to the financial industry, has criticised a white paper from three US government agencies on disaster planning for failing to recognise the threat of cyber terrorism.

Cyber-attacks represent a clear and present danger to all financial institutions, according to SunGard, and are not sufficiently addressed by the series of guidelines entitled Draft Interagency White Paper on Sound Practices to Strengthen the Resilience of the US Financial System. The white paper was published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System in September 2002.