Bank of robbery is not like the good old days when you could just pull up, hand a note and empty the vault. Today with everything linked to some server and that sever linked to somewhere else. Robberies take place without even having to be present at the scene of the crime. Hackers are like the gatekeepers of the new world. They can steal money from banks with a few well placed key press. If you have ever seen Swordfish you can get an idea of what the new age of cyber bank heist. The hackers from Russia, China and Europe that have been stealing from large banks for years. The group were able to steal an amount no less than $300 million and upwards of $900 million. They did this with using sophisticated software. The banks are now aware of the hacks but they are not going to disclose the real amount. The most alarming thing about this is that the attacks are still going on. They have been doing this for years before anyone noticed. More than 100 banks and financial institutions were targets.
How is is done?
How is is done?- BANK COMPUTERS: Hackers send email containing a malware program called Carbanak to hundreds of bank employees, hoping to infect a bank’s administrative computer.
- HACKER: Programs installed by the malware record keystrokes and take screen shots of the bank’s computers, so that hackers can learn bank procedures. They also enable hackers to control the banks’ computers remotely.
- The PAYOUT: By mimicking the bank procedures they have learned, hackers direct the banks’ computers to steal money in a variety of ways: Transferring money into hackers’ fraudulent bank accounts. Using e-payment systems to send money to fraudulent accounts overseas. Directing A.T.M.s to dispense money at set times and locations
“This is likely the most sophisticated attack the world has seen to date in terms of the tactics and methods that cybercriminals have used to remain covert,” ~Kaspersky North America’s managing director Chris Doggett