A group of hackers specialized in attacking banks has hit again, and this time they've breached four targets in Asia, respectively in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Kyrgyzstan, security researchers from Group-IB have told ZDNet.
The only incident that is currently public is one impacting Dutch Bangla Bank Limited, a bank in Bangladesh, which lost more than $3 million during several rounds of ATM cashout attacks that took place during the month of May, according to local media reports in Bangladesh.
SILENCE GROUP EXPANDS BEYOND EUROPE
In a report shared with ZDNet prior to publication, Group-IB tied the Dutch Bangla Bank incident to a group of hackers known as "Silence."
The group, which ZDNet previously covered in a September 2018 piece, has been active since 2016 and has historically targeted banks in Russia, former Soviet states, and Eastern Europe.
According to Rustam Mirkasymov, Head of Dynamic Analysis of Malicious Code at Group-IB, this is the first time the group has ventured into Asia.
TWO OTHER BANGLADESH BANKS ALSO HIT
Bangladesh local media reported that two other local banks -- NCC Bank and Prime Bank -- also faced similar issues as Dutch Bangla Bank, but they managed to avert financial losses. It is unclear if Silence was involved in those attacks as well.
Group-IB said Silence did hit banks in three other countries -- India, Sri Lanka, and Kyrgyzstan -- but could not disclose their names.
In September 2018, Group-IB said the group had only been successful in attacks against CIS and Eastern European countries, but that they were sending spear-phishing emails to banks all over the world.
Leave your comments
Login to post a comment
Post comment as a guest