Attackers Swift system for banks stole 4.8 million euros in Russia

In a successful attack on the Swift transaction system for banks, criminals in Russia managed to divert 339.5 million rubles, or 4.8 million euros. The Russian central bank admits this.

In a report about internet attacks on Russian banks, the country’s central bank reports that there was a successful attack on a system for Swift, according to Reuters. “The volume of unauthorized acts as a result of this attack amounts to 339.5 million rubles,” the Russian central bank said, not giving further details.

Payments organization Swift is increasingly confronted with attacks on the systems with which international organizations of financial institutions exchange information about transactions. In late 2016, the organization reported that the attacks were also becoming more sophisticated. In 2016, 65 million euros were stolen from a bank in Bangladesh in hacks on Swift systems. Banks in Ecuador and Vietnam have also fallen victim to hackers.