Highly skilled 8 gang hackers stole $45M from two Middle Eastern banks by hacking into credit card processing firms and withdrawing money from ATMs in 27 countries, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday.
"In the place of guns and masks, this cyber crime organization used laptops and the Internet,"
The U.S. Justice Department accused eight men of allegedly forming the New York-based cell of the organization, and said seven of them have been arrested. The eighth, allegedly a leader of the cell, was reported to have been murdered in the Dominican Republic on April 27.
"The co-ordinated attacks was carried out, in just over 10 hours, $40 million was raided from ATMs in 24 countries involving 36,000 transactions.
The case demonstrates the major threat that cyber crime poses to banks around the world. It also shows how increasingly international and sophisticated criminal gangs have become, particularly those using the Internet.
Prosecutors highlighted the "surgical precision" of these hackers, the global nature of their organization, and the speed and coordination with which they executed operations in 27 countries.
According to the complaint, 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, according to the complaint. 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" Readmore on Reuters
"In the place of guns and masks, this cyber crime organization used laptops and the Internet,"
The U.S. Justice Department accused eight men of allegedly forming the New York-based cell of the organization, and said seven of them have been arrested. The eighth, allegedly a leader of the cell, was reported to have been murdered in the Dominican Republic on April 27.
"The co-ordinated attacks was carried out, in just over 10 hours, $40 million was raided from ATMs in 24 countries involving 36,000 transactions.
The case demonstrates the major threat that cyber crime poses to banks around the world. It also shows how increasingly international and sophisticated criminal gangs have become, particularly those using the Internet.
Prosecutors highlighted the "surgical precision" of these hackers, the global nature of their organization, and the speed and coordination with which they executed operations in 27 countries.
According to the complaint, 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, according to the complaint. 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" Readmore on Reuters

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