Hackers stole an incredible $7.3 million in ATM fraud alone. Picture: Gene J. Puskar Source: AP
AN INTERNATIONAL hacker gang that stole $1 billion from more than 100 banks in 30 countries has become the biggest breach of security known to the financial sector and paves the way for a "new era in cybercrime", a report shows.
And two years on, the attacks remain active as the hackers try "to expand operations to other Baltic and Central Europe countries, the Middle East, Asia and Africa".
The hacks detailed in the Kaspersky Lab report, which was presented at a security conference on Monday in Cancun, Mexico, are the latest twist on data breaches that have struck not just the banks but major retailers such as Target and Home Depot.
The attack made this "by far the most successful criminal cyber campaign we have ever seen," the report concluded.
RELATED: READ THE FULL KASPERSKY LAB REPORT
The operation, which began in 2013, used software so advanced that hackers have used the method to withdraw cash from ATMs without being physically present at the machine.
It appears as though the hacker gang accessed computers by having bank employees click on email attachments.
The hackers relied on a technique known as "spear phishing," in which they sent emails from a fake account that looked familiar to the bank workers.
Those emails infected the computer with a form of malware called Carbanak and gave the gang entry into the internal network, allowing them to mimic the actions of workers responsible for the cash transfer systems. Each robbery took between two to four months.
In a plan that smacked of a Hollywood thriller, the hackers then lurked unseen in the systems of more than 100 banks, according to the report.
Working in stealth for months, the group would learn how each bank operated and used that knowledge to steal up to about $10 million in each raid, a sum just small enough to go nearly undetected in the daily shuffle of money.
Their intended targets were primarily in Russia, followed by the United States, Germany, China, India and Ukraine, Kaspersky says.
One bank lost $7.3 million when its ATMs were programmed to spew cash at certain times that henchmen would then collect, while a separate firm had $10 million taken via its online platform.
The report did not identify the banks involved and Kaspersky is partnering with law enforcement agencies to investigate the hacking that allegedly came out of Russia, Ukraine, and other parts of Europe and China.
Just as the hacking has grown more persistent, banks say their defences have improved.
Doug Johnson, senior vice president at the American Bankers Association, said that $10 worth of fraud is stopped for every $1 that succeeds, compared to a ratio of one-to-one roughly a decade ago.
Yet the hacking attempts continue to evolve in ways that indicate the battle may never end.
"These exploits are going to continue," Johnson said.
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