Financial institutions need to take extra caution as digital crimes show tremendous spike
With two Middle Eastern banks hit for $45m in a recent heist, banks will be well-advised to double security efforts to stay one step ahead of persistent cyber crooks. May 16, 2013 | Wendy WengA recent bank heist saw a global cyber crime ring net an unprecedented $45 million from bank ATMs in 27 countries over two separate attacks. Currently charged by US federal prosecutors, the eight hackers allegedly involved in the heist penetrated the computer system of a credit card processor in India in December 2012. They raised the available balance and withdrawal limits on prepaid MasterCard debit cards issued by United Arab Emirates-based National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah (RAKBANK) and stole prepaid debit card data for counterfeiting purposes, before proceeding to withdraw around $5 million in more than 4,500 ATM transactions in 20 different countries. This February, they targeted another bank card processor in the US, causing losses amounting to about $40 million to Oman-based Bank of Muscat. Within 10 hours, the suspects were alleged to have made about 36,000 ATM withdrawals in 24 countries. "In the place of guns and masks, this cyber crime organisation used laptops and the internet," said Loretta Lynch, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Based on bank crime statistics from the FBI there were 3,870 reported bank robberies in US during 2012, which was almost half of that reported in 2003. With continued efforts by banks to bolster their cyber security, the advent of technology – the dependence on and prevalence of mobile technologies such as smartphones and cloud computing, in particular – has not made things any easier, with crooks looking to target unsuspecting individuals as well as financial institutions to gain a quick buck, instead of engaging in the more traditional form of bank robberies. Indeed, the number of cyber attacks has increased in frequency – an amazing 782% from 2006 to 2012 – with the challenge now for banks to up efforts in providing added cyber security measures. The total loss from reported traditional bank robberies in US was recorded at $29.5 million in 2012, paling in comparison to the loss... Please login to read the complete article. If you already have an account, you can login now or subscribe/register.
Categories: Operational Risk & Security, Technology & OperationsOperationalRiskSecurity,technology, Operational Risk & Security,Technology & Operations, Keywords:RAKBANK, Bank Of Muscat, Loretta Lynch, Cyber Security RAKBANK, Bank of Muscat, Loretta Lynch, Cyber Security
|