Russian Police Bust Alleged Bank Malware Gang
Mathew J. Schwartz, 02 June 2016
Russian authorities have arrested about 50 people in connection with an ongoing investigation into a hacker group that’s suspected of unleashing malware-enabled hack attacks against customers of major Russian financial institutions.
The gang allegedly stole 1.7 billion rubles ($25.5 million) from accounts at multiple Russian financial services firms over a five-year period, Russia’s federal security service, known as the FSB, says in a June 1 statement. It adds that Sberbank – the largest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe – assisted with its investigation, but didn’t name any of the other victim banks.
The gang had attempted to steal a further 2.3 billion rubles ($34 million) by issuing false payment instructions, which were blocked, Russia’s Interior Ministry tells Reuters.
The FSB, which is the successor to the Soviet KGB, says it made related arrests – supported by Interior Ministry and National Guard troops – in 15 regions across Russia.
