North Korea alleged to be behind the cyber bank heists

Due north Korea may take been behind a series of cyber bank jobs that involved the SWIFT banking network, an analysis of malware code has revealed.

North Korea linked to banking concern thefts

Security firm Symantec has revealed that the prove emerging in the recent bank heist is tying the breaches to a North Korean hacking group known equally Lazarus. The group has previously targeted several organizations and websites in the Usa and Republic of korea, including the popular Sony Pictures hack. The security business firm says that Lazarus is also backside the attacks on Asian banks that involved the Club for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network. SWIFT provides a network for financial institutions to send and receive information virtually financial transactions in a secure format and is used by banks worldwide.

Using the network, criminal hackers managed to steal $81 1000000 from a banking concern in Bangladesh, while a Vietnamese depository financial institution interrupted a cyber heist of $1 million. Banks in Republic of ecuador and Philippines were as well possibly attacked by the same group.

Malware analysis revealed similarities

The malware code analysis revealed 2 similarities with the malware used in attacks by Lazarus since 2009. "Symantec believes that distinctive lawmaking shared between [malware] families, and the fact that Backdoor.Contopee [linked with Lazarus Group] was existence used in limited targeted attacks against fiscal institutions in the region, means that these tools can be attributed to the same group," Symantec has said. Backdoor.Contopee was used by the group in their targets in the Us and Southward Korea. While a highly subversive trojan, Backdoor.Destover was used in an set on against the Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2022.

Researchers have said that this slice of code has just been seen in two previous cases, in the Sony Pictures hack and attacks on banking and media institutions of S Korea in 2022. Sony Pictures hack had coincided with the release of a film about the assassination of Kim Jong-un. While in that location was no verification, the FBI had concluded that the North Korean regime was responsible for the set on.

"If you believe North Korea was behind those attacks, and then the banking company attacks were also the work of Democratic people's republic of korea," Eric Chien, a security researcher at Symantec told the NYT. This latest finding besides follows an earlier assay by BAE systems which had revealed that both the Sony Pictures hack and the Bangladesh depository financial institution chore were linked.

The state is believed to have been backside several criminal activities, including counterfeiting $100 bills, just this is mayhap the start time that banks have been targeted for coin. "We've never seen an assail where a nation-state has gone in and stolen money," Chien said. "This is a first."