cyber attacks on banks

N Korean link under probe

A top cyber-security firm is investigating whether North Korea could be linked to attacks on banks in recent months, reports BBC. Symantec said it had evidence that the same group attempted to steal money from a bank in the Philippines, one in Vietnam and Bangladesh’s central bank. It also said the rare malware deployed was similar to that used in the hacking of Sony Pictures in 2014. The US government said North Korea was behind the Sony hack. If North Korea is found to be behind the bank attacks, it would be the first time a country has been detected stealing money in a cyber-attack, Symantec’s technical director Eric Chien told Reuters. In February this year, hackers stole $81m (£55m) from the central bank of Bangladesh.
According to Symantec, it was the same group that attempted to steal $1m from the Tien Phong Bank in Vietnam and attacked a bank in the Philippines. In addition, the code shares similarities with malware used by the group known as Lazarus which has been accused of various attacks on the US and South Korea, including the attacks against Sony Pictures Entertainment. BSS adds: An international cyber security watchdog said they overnight discovered that hackers who stole $81 million from Bangladesh Bank were linked to hacking of another bank in the Philippines after an abortive attempt on a Vietnam bank alongside the 2014 hack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.
“Symantec has found evidence that a bank in the Philippines has also been attacked by the group that stole US$81 million from the Bangladesh central bank and attempted to steal over $1 million from the Tien Phong Bank in Vietnam,” cyber security company Symantec Corp said in a blog post late on Thursday. The watchdog did not name the Philippines bank or say if any money was stolen from there, but said traced the attack back to October last year while it also confirmed that the Philippines incident would represent the fourth known cyber attack against a bank involving fraudulent SWIFT messages. Banks around the world use secure SWIFT messages for issuing payment instructions to each other. Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, which is more known as SWIFT, earlier this week urged banks across the world to bolster their security, saying it was “aware of multiple attacks”. Symantec, on the other hand, said it identified three pieces of malware which were used in limited targeted attacks against financial institutions in Southeast Asia where hackers infiltrated the banks computers but there was no evidence of money being stolen.

cyber attacks on banks

N Korean link under probe

A top cyber-security firm is investigating whether North Korea could be linked to attacks on banks in recent months, reports BBC. Symantec said it had evidence that the same group attempted to steal money from a bank in the Philippines, one in Vietnam and Bangladeshs central bank. It also said the rare malware deployed was similar to that used in the hacking of Sony Pictures in 2014. The US government said North Korea was behind the Sony hack. If North Korea is found to be behind the bank attacks, it would be the first time a country has been detected stealing money in a cyber-attack, Symantecs technical director Eric Chien told Reuters. In February this year, hackers stole $81m (55m) from the central bank of Bangladesh. According to Symantec, it was the same group that attempted to steal $1m from the Tien Phong Bank in Vietnam and attacked a bank in the Philippines. In addition, the code shares similarities with malware used by the group known as Lazarus which has been accused of various attacks on the US and South Korea, including the attacks against Sony Pictures Entertainment. BSS adds: An international cyber security watchdog said they overnight discovered that hackers who stole $81 million from Bangladesh Bank were linked to hacking of another bank in the Philippines after an abortive attempt on a Vietnam bank alongside the 2014 hack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. Symantec has found evidence that a bank in the Philippines has also been attacked by the group that stole US$81 million from the Bangladesh central bank and attempted to steal over $1 million from the Tien Phong Bank in Vietnam, cyber security company Symantec Corp said in a blog post late on Thursday. The watchdog did not name the Philippines bank or say if any money was stolen from there, but said traced the attack back to October last year while it also confirmed that the Philippines incident would represent the fourth known cyber attack against a bank involving fraudulent SWIFT messages. Banks around the world use secure SWIFT messages for issuing payment instructions to each other. Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, which is more known as SWIFT, earlier this week urged banks across the world to bolster their security, saying it was aware of multiple attacks. Symantec, on the other hand, said it identified three pieces of malware which were used in limited targeted attacks against financial institutions in Southeast Asia where hackers infiltrated the banks computers but there was no evidence of money being stolen.