Cyber attacks hit banks, governments, firms in Europe

Major banks, telecommunication companies, internet providers and governments in Europe were dealing on Thursday with hundreds of cyber attacks - with limited panic, however, as the assaults were part of the Cyber Europe 2012 readiness exercise. "If real, such an attack would cause massive disruption for millions of citizens and businesses across Europe, and millions of euros of damage to the European Union economy," the bloc's executive, the European Commission, said.