Bangladesh: Central Bank hacked and stole $951 million

((Baonghean.vn) - The Central Bank of Bangladesh confirmed on March 13 that a group of hackers attempted to withdraw 951 million USD from the Central Bank's account in the United States.

This is considered one of the biggest thefts in the history of world banking, according to Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith.

Bangladesh Central Bank is the victim of a historic heist.

A group of unknown hackers broke into the computer system of Bangladesh Bank, then transferred 81 million USD from the Bangladesh Central Bank's account at the US Federal Reserve in New York to casinos in the Philippines from February 4 to 5.

The hacker group then sent 35 withdrawal requests for international payments with a total transaction value of up to 951 million USD.

Finance Minister Abdul Muhith said the Bangladesh Central Bank did not inform him about the robbery, and he only learned about it a month after the incident when the news was published in the media.

Mr. Muhith met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 13 to impose penalties on the officials at the central bank. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has demanded the resignation of the central bank governor and the finance minister over the incident.

Bangladesh is currently investigating the heist. However, it will be difficult to recover the money that has left the banking system. Mohammad Aslam Alam, secretary of the banking sector at the Ministry of Finance, said that only $68,000 had been frozen in the Philippines and the process of recovering the lost money could take months.

The above incident is a warning to banks and businesses around the world about the increasing trend of high-tech crime, requiring more investment and attention to information management and security.

Thanh Hien

(According to Reuters)