Cyber thieves steal 'unprecedented’ sums of cash in most advanced raid of its kind.
ATTACK: Cyber thieves have stolen $1billion from banks across the world [GETTY ]
The hackers, dubbed Carbanak, are thought to have been operating from Russia, Ukraine and China with the first attacks starting in 2013.
Using a range of advanced digital weapons the online crooks have hit banks in Russia, US, China, Germany, Ukraine and Canada.
It appears the gangs were able to take control of systems by attacking emails.
Once a staff member had opened the infected mail the hackers were able to take over systems, including security cameras and cash machines.
Kaspersky’s investigators said, the thieves installed a “RAT”— remote access tool — that could capture video and screenshots of the employees’ computers.“The goal was to mimic bank staff activities”Sergey Golovanov,
“The goal was to mimic their activities,” said Sergey Golovanov, who conducted the inquiry for Kaspersky Lab.
“That way, everything would look like a normal, everyday transaction,” he said in an interview with the New York Times.
With the hackers taking control of cash machines they could dispense money at an exact time and date, allowing thousands to be stolen every day.
Kaspersky Labs think attacks took months to complete with an average of £10m taken each time.
The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a body that alerts banks about hacking activity, has confirmed that its members had received a briefing about Kaspersky's report in January.
"We cannot comment on individual actions our members have taken, but on balance we believe our members are taking appropriate actions to prevent and detect these kinds of attacks and minimise any effects on their customers,'' it said in a statement.
