US mining company NioCorp Developments announced on Wednesday to the SEC that it recently suffered significant financial loss due to a BEC Hack on its systems.
See also: The construction sector is targeted by BEC attacks
NioCorp, which is in the process of developing a critical minerals project in the United States, announced the discovery of a cybersecurity on February 14. The incident involved a breach of its information systems, including part of its email system.
According to NioCorp's brief statement, the attacker exploited a compromised email system to carry out a BEC hack. The attack resulted in "incorrect payments to suppliers," with the total amount of damage estimated at approximately $500,000.
The hackers appear to have exploited their access to the company's emails to send seemingly legitimate messages, designed to convince recipients to redirect payments to or from a supplier to a bank account controlled by them.
See also: "Clawback" service recovers stolen funds from BEC attacks
The company has notified financial institutions and relevant law enforcement authorities in a coordinated effort to recover the funds. At the same time, the investigation into the incident is in full swing.
"Although the company believes the cybersecurity incident is limited to incorrect vendor payments, the investigation into the cybersecurity incident remains ongoing and the full scope, nature and impact of the cybersecurity incident are not yet known," told the SEC.
He added, “As of the date of this announcement, the company has not yet determined whether the cybersecurity incident is likely to materially affect its overall financial condition or results of operations, including whether the company will ultimately be able to recover all or a portion of the supplier payments that were misdirected.”
Every year, the FBI publishes a detailed report on the financial losses caused by cybercrime, with a particular focus on BEC hacks, such as the NioCorp case. According to the agency’s data, BEC attacks caused $2.9 billion in 2023 alone, while total losses from 2013 to 2023 amounted to $55 billion.
See also: Microsoft: Abuse of file hosting services for BEC attacks
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a sophisticated type of cyberattack that targets organizations through fraudulent email schemes. These attacks often involve impersonating a trusted individual, such as a company executive or business partner, to manipulate employees or stakeholders into transferring funds or sharing sensitive information. BEC attacks exploit human trust rather than relying solely on advanced technical methods, making them particularly difficult to detect. Implementing strong security practices, such as two-factor authentication and training employees on how to recognize phishing, is critical to mitigating this growing threat.
Source: securityweek
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