Hackers hit Russian bank customers, planned cyber raids
MOSCOW: Russian cyber criminals used malware planted on Android mobile devices to steal from domestic bank customers and were planning to target European lenders before their arrest, investigators and sources with knowledge of the case told Reuters.
Their campaign raised a relatively small sum by cybercrime standards – more than 50 million roubles (US$892,000) – but they had also obtained more sophisticated malicious software for a modest monthly fee to go after the clients of banks in France and possibly a range of other western nations.
Russia’s relationship to cyber crime is under intense scrutiny after US intelligence officials alleged that Russian hackers had tried to help Republican Donald Trump win the US presidency by hacking Democratic Party servers. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the allegation.
The gang members tricked the Russian banks’ customers into downloading malware via fake mobile banking applications, as well as via pornography and e-commerce programmes, according to a report compiled by cyber security firm GroupIB which investigated the attack with the Russian Interior Ministry.
The criminals – 16 suspects were arrested by Russian law enforcement authorities in November last year – infected more than a million smartphones in Russia, on average compromising 3,500 devices a day, Group-IB said.
The hackers targeted customers of state lender Sberbank, and also stole money from accounts at Alfa Bank and online payments company Qiwi, exploiting weaknesses in the companies’ SMS text message transfer services, said two people with direct knowledge of the case.
Although operating only in Russia before their arrest, they had developed plans to target large European banks including French lenders Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Societe General, Group-IB said. — AFP