Some have said that SWIFT is not fit for goal. The hackers, according to Gomes, were neither Filipino, nor Bangladeshi, and there has so far been no evidence that it involved anyone in Bangladesh.
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“This malware appears to be just part of a wider attack toolkit, and would have been used to cover the attackers’ tracks as they sent forged payment instructions to make the transfers”.
The hackers sent fraudulent messages, ostensibly from the central bank in Dhaka, on the SWIFT system, to the New York Federal Reserve seeking to transfer almost $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank’s account there.
In the wake of an orchestrated cyberattack found to be targeting numerous banks across the globe, the Bank of England issued an urgent call of all United Kingdom institutions to check for “indicators of compromise” on any computer connected to the Swift messaging service, it has emerged.
Senators wrapped up their investigation on Thursday but they were nowhere near finding the truth of what happened as they were hamstrung by the country’s strict bank secrecy laws and as casinos fall outside the ambit of the anti-money laundering law. Had their poor spelling not let them down, it’s likely that their ambitious sting would not have been detected until it was too late.
The lack of disclosure may foster overconfidence in SWIFT network security by banks, which routinely approve transfer requests made through the messaging network without additional verification, former SWIFT employees and cyber security experts said.
“We conducted an examination as well because this is an event that has affected a bank and the banking system, so we have looked into the matter and on the basis of that, we will prepare a report”.
“New money, suit and tie” – she may be able to read you like a magazine, but can she still assure global financial transactions?
In recent weeks, New York-based JPMorgan Chase has begun restricting many insiders’ access to its SWIFT systems, The Wall Street Journal reports. SWIFT codes for at least seven worldwide banks were written into malware used in an attack that Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank disclosed over the weekend, Bloomberg reported, citing a private report published by BAE Systems PLC (BAES.L). He requested similar information from the Federal Reserve, including steps it has taken to coordinate with SWIFT, Bangladesh Bank, the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Treasury since the heist.
Naturally, every effort is made to ensure these networks are as secure as possible, with various checks on the transactions legitimacy made at both ends.
Espenilla, Jr. said the central bank’s Supervision and Examination Sector has finished looking into the involvement of banks and other financial institutions under its watch, with the findings to be elevated to the Monetary Board for consideration and approval “very soon”.
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But as banking becomes more automated and more interconnected, the growing number of points of entry to secure networks and their interconnectedness means that an attacker gaining access to one can access many others.
