2 days, 28 countries: How hackers robbed Rs 94 crore from Pune bank
Friday, August 17, 2018 IST
Hackers siphoned off more than Rs 94 crore by hacking into the switch server of Pune-based Cosmos Bank by cloning Visa and RuPay debit cards between August 11 and August 13.
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The details were used to carry out around 12,000 transactions worth Rs 78 crore in 28 countries on August 11. In India, 2,841 transactions worth Rs 2.50 crore were carried out.
The attack did not stop here. On August 13, in another malware attack on the bank's server, a SWIFT transaction was initiated and Rs 14.42 crore was transferred to the account of ALM Trading Limited in Hanseng Bank, in Hong Kong.
HERE IS HOW THE FRAUD TOOK PLACE
1) Hackers create a proxy switch to interact with VISA and RuPay gateway.
2) They used the fake switch to approve 12,000 transactions.
3) Transactions were carried out in 28 countries.
4) In India alone, there were 2,800 transactions.
5) Pune's Cosmos Bank sounded an alert on Saturday (August 11) after which things were investigated.
THE SUSPECTS
Some experts suspect hackers were linked to an international group who were responsible for stealing $81 million from the Bangladesh Bank in 2016.
In the Bangladesh Bank case, the attackers had managed to launch a malware that hacked into the bank's SWIFT software to transfer money.
THE INVESTIGATION
Forensic and cyber experts are probing the lapses. Cosmos Bank meanwhile has suspended all online services and ATM transactions.
The bank has ensured customers that their money is safe. It has also clarified that their core banking system was not hit and hackers managed to hack only into the payment gateway.
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