Symantec guesses that hackers have hit about 100 organizations A second hacking group is also trying to rob banks by exploiting the SWIFT money transfer system, following a US$81 million heist in February that used a similar approach. The cyberattacks have been going on since January and have been targeting companies in the U.S., Hong Kong, Australia, and other countries, according to a Tuesday report from security firm Symantec. A “rough guess” is that about 100 organizations have been hit so far, based on the 74 individual computer infections detected, the security firm added. As part of their attacks, the hackers used malware to cover up records of fraudulent transactions made over SWIFT, preventing their victims from learning about the money theft. Symantec said this approach bears a resemblance to the February heist at a Bangladesh bank that also involved hackers hiding evidence of their attack by tampering with the SWIFT system. Some security experts have blamed the Bangladesh heist on the Lazarus Group, which has been linked to the North Korean government and the infamous 2014 hack of Sony pictures. However, Symantec said the malware used in these newly uncovered attacks probably belong to a separate cybercriminal gang known as Carbanak, which is believed to have stolen over $1 billion from dozens of countries by facilitating large wire transfers. “This new wave of attacks has also used some infrastructure that has previously been used in Carbanak campaigns,” Symantec said. This includes the use of IP addresses found in previous Carbanak-related attacks. To target their victims, the hackers distributed Microsoft Word documents and RAR archives — likely through email phishing — that can secretly install a Trojan onto a target computer. That Trojan can then load other hacking tools built to recover passwords and execute programs. The hackers were targeting financial organizations in the banking, securities, trading, and payroll sectors, but they also attacked a small number groups related to the government, healthcare, and legal industries. “Although difficult to perform, these kinds of attacks on banks can be highly lucrative,” Symantec said. “Estimates of total losses to Carbanak-linked attacks range from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.” On Tuesday, SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, said it’s aware of the details in Symantec’s report. In August, it warned customers about ongoing attacks and has been publishing details on how to prevent them. Related content news Fortinet grabs cloud security player Lacework Fortinet will integrate Lacework's technology across its secure access service edge (SASE) and Security Fabric packages. By Michael Cooney Jun 10, 2024 3 mins Remote Access Security Cloud Computing news Cisco steps up full-stack observability play with Splunk tie-ins Work has already begun to integrate Splunk, AppDynamics, and ThousandEyes as Cisco strengthens its observability lineup. By Michael Cooney Jun 07, 2024 5 mins Network Management Software Networking how-to Converting between uppercase and lowercase on the Linux command line Converting text between uppercase and lowercase can be very tedious, especially when you want to avoid inadvertent misspellings. Fortunately, Linux provides a handful of commands that can make the job very easy. By Sandra Henry Stocker Jun 07, 2024 5 mins Linux news Network jobs watch: Hiring, skills and certification trends What IT leaders need to know about expanding responsibilities, new titles and hot skills for network professionals and I&O teams. By Denise Dubie Jun 06, 2024 12 mins Careers Data Center Networking PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe