A highly unconventional cyber-attack foray that intercepted more than 100 major banks in over 30 different countries has come to light recently.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were stolen in this attack which seems to be the biggest cyber heist ever in history!
Details Of The Cyber-Theft
- The New York Times released a secret report from a famous computer security company, Kaspersky Labs.
- The report, which will be released shortly into the mainstream for public access.
- It suggests that the attack was highly sophisticated and it involved usage of malicious software which gave the hackers long-term access to various banking systems without any suspicion from the bank whatsoever.
- Russian, Chinese and European hackers easily siphoned off close to $300 million in this attack.
- The entire money was slowly transferred to other bank accounts spread around the world in small denominations to avoid detection.
- The attacks primarily targeted banks in Russia, Japan, India, the Netherlands, the United States and Switzerland to name a few.
Cyber attack
How The Hacking Was Carried Out
- Hackers forced the ATM machines in these countries to dispense cash at specific times controlled by their malicious software. The hackers picked up the cash at these locations with ease.
- The hackers monitored ATM and bank branch video feeds to gauge their daily operational methods and also impersonated bank officials to get away with raw cash.
- Each transfer from the targeted bank accounts was close to $10 million. Some banks were attacked regularly.
- Kaspersky Labs has decided not to name any bank in the report to provide anonymity and widespread panic by account holders.
Cyber attackers
What Measures Can Be Taken To Solve This Crisis?
- Firewall management by servers needs to be spruced up.
- ATMs must introduce facial recognition apart from the PIN entry.
- Bank Officials need to be notified of major cash withdrawal requests before actually granting permission for the transaction.
Firewall management
This is the most horrific cyber-attack the world has witnessed in the recent past. Covert operations can eat away your savings without you even knowing it.
You might even lose your money if your bank goes bankrupt! Always change your online banking passwords throughout the year and make regular visits to the bank to keep your account in check.
It is better to be safe than sorry!
