Hackers make off with £650m in record breaking cyber heist
A gang of Russian hackers have made off with the biggest cash haul in history from a bank raid after pilfering £650m from banks around the world in an audacious cybercrime.
The heist, two years in the making, saw hackers launch prepared viruses to infect over 100 targeted financial institutions worldwide, allowing them to extract information from their internal networks over a period of months.
Such was the sophistication of this operation that criminals were even able to commandeer video feeds from supposedly secure locations as they accumulated the necessary data to impersonate staff and syphon of millions of pounds into specially created dummy accounts.
Banks only became aware of the issue when a Ukrainian cash machine was observed to spit out cash at prearranged times without requiring use of a bank card or operated by the criminals.
A Kapersky lab spokesperson said: “The plot marks the beginning of a new stage in the evolution of cybercriminal activity, where malicious users steal money directly from banks, and avoid targeting end users.”