New Attack Reported by Swift Global Bank Network

Technology has allowed banks to expand into behemoths and the assets of some number in the trillions. Thieves are using banking technology to conduct online bank robberies. “Thieves have again found their way into what was thought to be the most secure financial messaging system in the world and stolen money from a bank,” reports Michael Corkery for the New York Times. Swift, or Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication based in Belgium, is used to transfer money around the globe. The thefts likely had inside help, with direct use of credentials or employees clicking on malware links: “Swift said the thieves somehow got their hands on legitimate network credentials, initiated the fraudulent transfers and installed malware on bank computers to disguise their movements.” Swift won’t name the most recent bank robbed, but it’s the second time, and “investigators are still trying to solve the $81 million heist from the central bank of Bangladesh in February,” which involved the transfer from Federal Reserve Bank of New York to accounts in the Philippines. That bank robber has yet to be solved, and the parties continue to negotiate over who is responsible for the missing money. – YaleGlobal