Dive Brief:
- In February, hackers that sought to steal nearly $1 billion in a bank heist involving a complex web of international transfers made a simple spelling error, severely diminishing the the amount they got away with, according to a Reuters report.
- Hackers misspelled "foundation" as "fandation", which prompted Deutsche Bank to seek clarification from the Bangladesh central bank on the transfer. The Bangladesh central bank then stopped the transaction, officials said.
- In one of the largest bank thefts in history, the hackers still got away with about $80 million.
Dive Insight:
The hackers first stole Bangladesh Bank's credentials for payment transfers by breaching its systems. They then hit the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with dozens of requests to transfer money from Bangladesh Bank's account to private entities in the Philippines and Sri Lanka, according to Reuters.
Four requests went through, but a fifth request was stopped because the hackers misspelled the name of the NGO, Shalika Foundation.
Bangladesh Bank said it has recovered some of the money and is working to try to recover the rest. The New York Fed has said its systems were not breached.
Silicon Valley-based FireEye is advising Bangladesh Bank on the investigation, according to Reuters. The cybersecurity firm focuses on studying how victims of cyberattacks are affected, but is also working to offer intelligence-gathering capabilities on cyber criminals.
Many banks have been trying to add people with tech experience to their leadership teams to help deal with a growing number of tech-based problems, including cybersecurity concerns. A report released by Accenture last October found only 6% of directors that oversee the world's biggest banks have any substantial tech experience.
