By Nicole Arce, Feb. 27, 2015, TechTimes.com

A New York financial regulator called on banks and financial institutions to tighten their security measures against cyber intrusions to prevent a financial meltdown similar to what happened to the mortgage market in 2008.

In a speech delivered at Columbia University, Benjamin Lawsky, New York's head of its Department of Financial Services (DFS) said he fears that an "Armageddon-type cyber event" could potentially devastate the state's financial industry and trickle over into the larger national economy.

Lawsky said he was considering instituting more rules that would require the licensed banks and insurance companies it oversees to be more vigilant against cyber attacks that could lead to such a scenario. Although the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve are the main financial regulators, New York is significant because it is home to major financial institutions, such as Bank of New York Mellon, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, and the effect of a catastrophic cyber attack on these organizations would be felt all across the United States.