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Cyber-attack on Union Bank of India last year on the lines of Bangladesh heist: Report

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CIOL Writers
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Union Bank of India witnessed a cyber-attack last July on the lines of Bangladesh heist, after an employee opened an email attachment releasing malware that allowed hackers to steal the state-run bank’s data, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

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According to the report, the hacking attempt looked very similar to cyber-theft last year of more than $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank's account at the New York Federal Reserve.

The opening of the email attachment, which looked like it had come from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), unleashed the malware that criminals used to steal Union Bank’s access codes for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a system that lenders use for international transactions.

The codes were then used to send transfer instructions for about $170 million to a Union Bank account at Citigroup Inc in New York. Notably, Union Bank had traced the money trail and blocked the movement of funds.

Though SWIFT did mention late last year that some banks using its system had been attacked after the Bangladesh heist, but did not specifically name Union Bank of India.

SWIFT is yet to make any official comment on the report.

cyber-security cyber-attacks