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Brazen hackers managed to drain cash machines around the world in a "massive 21st-century bank heist", say US prosecutors.
A global cybercrime ring stole £29m ($45m) from cashpoints in one of the biggest bank heists ever, US officials have revealed. The gang drained the cash from two Middle Eastern banks by hacking into credit card processing firms and withdrawing money from ATMs in 27 countries. In one of the two attacks, £26m ($40m) was raided from cashpoints across 24 countries in just over 10 hours - through a total of 36,000 transactions. US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch described the theft as "a massive 21st-century bank heist". She told a news conference: "In the place of guns and masks, this cybercrime organisation used laptops and the internet. "Moving as swiftly as data over the internet, the organisation worked its way from the computer systems of international corporations to the streets of New York City." According to the US Justice Department, the gang broke into the computers of two credit card processors, one in India in December 2012 and the other in the United States this February. The companies were not identified. The hackers increased the available balance and withdrawal limits on prepaid MasterCard debit cards issued by Bank of Muscat of Oman, and National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC (RAKBANK) of the United Arab Emirates. They then distributed counterfeit debit cards to "cashers" around the world, enabling them to siphon millions of dollars from ATMs in a matter of hours. In New York, for example, members of the cell fanned out into the city on the afternoon of February 19, armed with cards bearing a single Bank of Muscat account number. Ten hours later, they had completed 2,904 withdrawals for £1.5m ($2.4m) in total, the final transaction coming at around 1.26am. Casher crews in other countries were busy doing the same, pulling some £26m from Bank of Muscat to add to the £3m ($5m) they stole from RAKBANK in December. Prosecutors - who also highlighted the sophistication and "surgical precision" of the hackers - accused eight men of allegedly forming the New York-based cell of the organisation and said seven of them had been arrested. The eighth, allegedly a leader of the cell, was reported to have been murdered in the Dominican Republic on April 27. Officials in Washington say the ringleaders are believed to be outside the US, but refused to give more details due to the ongoing investigation.........Story: Cybercrime: Hackers Steal £29m In ATM Heist
A global cybercrime ring stole £29m ($45m) from cashpoints in one of the biggest bank heists ever, US officials have revealed. The gang drained the cash from two Middle Eastern banks by hacking into credit card processing firms and withdrawing money from ATMs in 27 countries. In one of the two attacks, £26m ($40m) was raided from cashpoints across 24 countries in just over 10 hours - through a total of 36,000 transactions. US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch described the theft as "a massive 21st-century bank heist". She told a news conference: "In the place of guns and masks, this cybercrime organisation used laptops and the internet. "Moving as swiftly as data over the internet, the organisation worked its way from the computer systems of international corporations to the streets of New York City." According to the US Justice Department, the gang broke into the computers of two credit card processors, one in India in December 2012 and the other in the United States this February. The companies were not identified. The hackers increased the available balance and withdrawal limits on prepaid MasterCard debit cards issued by Bank of Muscat of Oman, and National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC (RAKBANK) of the United Arab Emirates. They then distributed counterfeit debit cards to "cashers" around the world, enabling them to siphon millions of dollars from ATMs in a matter of hours. In New York, for example, members of the cell fanned out into the city on the afternoon of February 19, armed with cards bearing a single Bank of Muscat account number. Ten hours later, they had completed 2,904 withdrawals for £1.5m ($2.4m) in total, the final transaction coming at around 1.26am. Casher crews in other countries were busy doing the same, pulling some £26m from Bank of Muscat to add to the £3m ($5m) they stole from RAKBANK in December. Prosecutors - who also highlighted the sophistication and "surgical precision" of the hackers - accused eight men of allegedly forming the New York-based cell of the organisation and said seven of them had been arrested. The eighth, allegedly a leader of the cell, was reported to have been murdered in the Dominican Republic on April 27. Officials in Washington say the ringleaders are believed to be outside the US, but refused to give more details due to the ongoing investigation.........Story: Cybercrime: Hackers Steal £29m In ATM Heist
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