Hackers target banks through phishing-based attack

Security researchers claim that a team of hackers – collectively known as ‘Anunak’ – has taken $17m (approximately £11m) from retailers and banks, along with other businesses, since 2013.

Holland-based Fox-IT and Moscow’s Group-IB said in a report that the cyber criminals have been making banks their main target, as well as  Russian payment systems and those from CIS countries.

However, in 2014, the group has been increasingly targeting European and US firms.

The report asserts that the hacking gang – whose membership largely comprises those of Ukrainian and Russian nationalities – has been employing phishing emails that exploit recent MS Office flaws, botnets, backdoor malware, and banking Trojans to hack internal networks. Their tactics are a long way from the typical methods used to target bank customers.

With internal network access, the hackers would be able to control computers of system admins and IT specialists, as well as record video footage of employee activities to gain knowledge of how the firm organises its work.

Fox-IT’s general manager and SVP, Andy Chandler, said:

“We have seen criminals branching out for years, for example with POS malware. Anunak has capabilities which pose threats across multiple continents and industries.

“It shows there’s a grey area between APT and botnets. The [criminals’] pragmatic approach once more starts a new chapter in the cyber-crime ecosystem.”

Banks have always been a popular target of hackers, for obvious reasons. Firms in all sectors are, however, under threat from cyber criminals looking to unscrupulously obtain access to customer data. The best action organisations can take is to post cyber security jobs, filling those positions with personnel capable of protecting their systems.