The money was transferred electronically – The bank is unknown – More than 190 victims were identified and the amounts stolen from each bank account, according to the records, ranged between 1,700 and 39,000 euros
Cybercriminals stole more than half a million euros from the accounts of a European bank. The digital attack was discovered by experts from the Russian Kaspersky Lab, with evidence indicating a targeted attack against the customers of a large European bank.
The first signs of the attack were discovered on January 20, when Kaspersky experts detected a (command & control) server on the Internet. The server's control panel showed traces of a Trojan program that was used to steal money from customers' bank accounts.
The experts also found transaction logs on the server, which included information about the amounts of money that were taken from specific accounts. In total, the company's experts managed to identify more than 190 victims, most of whom were located in Italy and Turkey. The amounts stolen from each bank account, according to the logs, ranged between 1,700 and 39,000 euros.
The attack lasted for at least a week when the C&C server was discovered, with a start date of January 13, 2014. During this time, the cybercriminals managed to steal more than 500,000 euros. Two days after Kaspersky experts discovered the C&C server, the criminals removed all traces of evidence that could be used to identify them. However, the company's experts believe that this is probably related to changes in the technical infrastructure used for the attack, and not to its termination.
The stolen money was transferred to the accounts of the fraudsters in an interesting and unusual way. The experts noted a characteristic peculiarity in the organization of the so-called “smugglers”, where those involved in the fraud collected part of the stolen money in specially created bank accounts and withdrew cash via ATMs. There was evidence of several different groups of “smugglers”, each of which was responsible for different amounts. One group was responsible for moving amounts between 40,000 and 50,000 euros, another group for amounts between 15,000 and 20,000 euros, and a third for amounts not exceeding 2,000 euros.
The evidence revealed by Kaspersky Lab experts indicates that the campaign was most likely organized by organized criminals. However, the malicious tools they used to steal money can be effectively countered by available security technologies.
Source: protothema.gr
