One of Europe's biggest banks has just revealed what appears to be a huge data leak from one of its servers. Russian-speaking hackers stole up to $10 million from U.S. and Russian banks, according to a Moscow-based cybersecurity firm headed by the former head of Russia's domestic intelligence agency, the FSB, and a former senior executive of a major bank.
Cybercriminals have teamed up with drug cartels in Latin America to attack financial institutions and governments, using a variety of scams and malicious programs to make millions, according to a new report. The Russian cybercrime group, the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB, has targeted organizations in Latin America.
In total, banks in Latin America spent about $809 million on digital security incidents, response and recovery in 2017, according to the OAS. In 2012, the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) fell victim to cybersecurity. The same methods have been used by drug cartels in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.
In Chile, Banco Chile was also the victim of a cyber attack in which hackers stole more than 10 million US dollars. In March 2016, hackers stole $5 million from the bank's computer system in Chile, according to the OAS, before launching a malware attack that crippled much of its network.
As IT teams tried to stop the virus from spreading, cyber attackers broke into the bank's computer system and siphoned off $10 million in assets from Banco Chile. The hackers also said that the Cayman Bank and Trust Company contacted them using the same exploit against the hacking team that was intended for a cyber attack on the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York. According to OAS, the attackers used malware to hack into the software, allowing them to transfer money and clean up after themselves.
The hackers gained access to the network and infiltrated the bank's IT system with highly contagious malicious software, which wiped out hard drives and brought down branches, phones and banking systems across the country.
Banxico quickly established a cyber security unit that drafts and issues information security guidelines for the country's banks. Mandiant Security Consulting Services, which provides disruption response and general advice in cybersecurity, said that for most actors the sharing of information about cybercrime remains unthinkable. Simply put, companies cannot rely on government guidance on cyber-security risks, because many governments do not yet share information - security laws related to cyber data. This is clearly possible, but sharing information and information about cybercrime remains "unthinkable" for most of these actors, "said Michael D'Agostino, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Mandian Security Consulting.
In this regard, alongside their references, banks in Latin America have developed protection systems that focus on devices and identity verification systems that allow customers to log on to their online banking websites. Most security software companies do not consider Latin America a critical market, and therefore there are few cybersecurity services. There are no national cybersecurity rules for the region's banks, and there is a lack of awareness of the importance of information security in the banking sector. The financial sector in South America does not invest in cutting-edge technologies to detect and prevent cyber attacks, and spends most of its digital security budgets on more basic firewall protection.
Phishing attacks are extremely popular among hackers targeting major banks in Latin America. An attacker uses fake Google and Bing adwords to direct customers to make them look like an official bank website. Information security specialists also know the lurking trojan, which has been used for several years to attack remote banking systems. Indeed, last year, the security firm Group IB found that cyber criminals, including Russia's MoneyTaker Group, collect information about services that use SMS as an authentication tool to launch attacks on cross-border payment systems such as PayPal and MasterCard. A hacker who has received enough personal information about the target can pass a mandatory telecommunications test and access banking services via a cross-border payment system, "says Carsten Schulz, head of security research at Group IB.
Experts point out that Latin America is fertile ground for attacks, because coordinating illegal cyber-fraud is much easier than in Europe or the United States. North Korea - The hackers with ties appear to be focused on the U.S., South America and the Middle East, as well as China and South Africa. Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela are among the countries most likely to be targeted by hackers, "says David Wright, head of security research at Group IB. Latin America enjoys low-cost cyber insurance options, such as the Latin American Cyber Insurance Program (LACIP).
Internet access has spread to developing countries, including Latin America and the Caribbean, and the problem of hacking is expected to increase. The report also highlights some of the most popular malware threats that afflict Latin America. There is a strong correlation between the number of malware attacks in the US and Latin American and Caribbean countries.
