How Cyber Criminals Stole up to $1B from Financial Services Companies



It may be the largest bank robbery ever. A group of cyber criminals has stolen up to $1 billion globally, according a new report by Moscow-based cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab.
According to the findings, the cyber gang targeted more than 100 banks, financial institutions, electronic payment platforms and financial processing firms in 30 countries. And the threat is far from over.

The hackers infiltrated banks’ internal systems first by sending employees spear phishing emails with attachments that masqueraded as official bank communications. The attachments exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office 2003, 2007 and 2010, along with Microsoft Word. Hackers then installed malware known as Carbanak. In some cases, balances were inflated.  

For months, Carbanak lurked and quietly recorded video of how bank employees authorized transactions and moved money throughout each company’s system.

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