This Hacker Stole $1.000.000.000 From Banks (Carbanak)

This Hacker Stole $1.000.000.000 From Banks (Carbanak)
State-Sponsored HackersGolovanov, who was first to publicly detail the group's activities, likens its work to that of state-sponsored hackers, taking several months to complete its attacks. Kaspersky's 2015 research says spoofing ATMs into dispensing cash is just one way the group has made money. Carbanak also infiltrated the systems of banks to transfer money into its own accounts and altered databases. It would artificially inflate the amount of money in an account and then transfer this to other accounts. One financial group is claimed to have lost $10 million due to the exploitation of its online banking platform.
The Money Laundering SystemGovernment watchdogs are wary of bitcoin being used for illicit purposes, and now they have an example that seems ready for a Hollywood script: According to Europol, this cyber gang stole more than $1.2 billion from more than 100 financial institutions in 40 countries used crypto assets to cover their tracks. The alleged mastermind is a 34-year-old Ukrainian man whom officials identified as “Denis K,” who allegedly wanted to create a money-laundering cryptocurrency for the Russian mafia.
Reassuringly Familiar Methods Carbanak's criminal infrastructure may have been sophisticated but its initial methods of getting inside banks has been reassuringly familiar. Both security firm Kaspersky and Europol say spear-phishing emails were sent to members of staff. Starting around 2013 legitimate-looking email messages were sent to members of staff inside banking organisations. As is common with spear-phishing campaigns these appear to be sent from trusted senders and included attachments in the form of Word 97-2003 documents or control panel files.
AftermathIt was still unknown exactly how many other people may have been working for the Carbanak group and officials still needed to prove to courts that Denis K was guilty of the alleged crimes. Yuste told media "the head has been cut off". However, Kaspersky's Golovanov said there may still be some activity from the group. "Right now we see that the infrastructure criminals were using for their robbery is still operational," Golovanov commented. "We've predicted there will be less scale and it will be much less easier for them to work."
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