According to the Russian “Kommersant” reported that Russia’s Globex Bank confirmed on the 22nd, recently hackers use the SWIFT banking system to attempt to steal 55 million rubles (about 940,000 U.S. dollars) from Globex Bank. The hacking group eventually only stole $94,000 (about 10% of the total amount) because of large bank transfers and frequent bank actions that promptly interrupted the remittance. It is reported that the case is the first in Russia, SWIFT bank theft.
Globex is part of VEB, a state-owned bank in Russia. Informed sources , this week VEB plans to transfer Globex to state-owned assets management agencies.
Currently, representatives of the Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications Association (SWIFT) declined to comment on the Globex case. Valery Ovsyannikov, Globex Bank president, said the case happened last week and “customer funds have not been affected.”
Earlier, the Brussels-based SWIFT Association issued a series of warnings urging banks to enhance cybersecurity in a way similar to the repeated burglary of Bank of Bangladesh network in February 2016. Although SWIFT declined to disclose the number of cyber attacks or any victims identified, experts said that for at least seven years, at least seven banking institutions across the world have experienced varying degrees of cyberattack on the SWIFT system, Details of some of the cases have been announced, including the cyber-burglary of Far Eastern Bank of Taiwan and Nepal’s NIC Bank of Asia.
