Cobalt Hackers Steal Cash from ATMs across 14 Countries

Cobalt, name of a hackers' gang is understood to have pounced on ATMs in several countries across Europe using malware that embezzled with the machines making them dispense cash.

It has been reported that Group-IB a Russian security company assessed Cobalt to be that hacking gang which in the greatest possibility was responsible for several assaults which hijacked ATMs within fourteen countries among which Romania, Poland, Netherlands, Britain, Spain and Russia are prominent.

Group-IB also decided over Cobalt's name from "Cobalt Strike," certain tool for penetration testing that enabled the attackers hack into the PCs of banks via malware-tainted e-mails for gaining admission into specialized servers which regulated the targeted
ATMs. Grahamcluley.com posted this, November 22, 2016.

Group-IB's threat intelligence chief, Dmitry Volkov told the news agency Reuters that there would be increase in heists against ATMs. It was perceived that hackers had changed their targets from Internet banking credentials and credit/debit card numbers to banking networks which was more lucrative and provided them entry into not just automatic teller machines, but e-payment networks too.

Europol the European Union law enforcement body lately cautioned of remote ATM assaults gearing to evolve and spread.

ATM attacks of various forms are not new; however, their prevalence has expanded. They now include skimmers which are planted on machines for filching details off payment cards. Previously during 2016, a Taiwan-situated bank temporarily held up withdrawals when over $2m was thought as grabbed from ATMs with the aid of malware.

Group-IB finds Cobalt connected with Buhtrap one cyber-crime syndicate which filched 1.8bn roubles (USD28m) out of Russian banks during August 2015-January 2016. The connection stems from both gangs utilizing similar attack methods and tools. Notably, Buhtrap made cash heists via fake wire-transfers rather than doing ATM jackpotting.

ASA (ATM Security Association) that strives towards enhancing ATM security and whose members are Diebold Nixdorf maker of ATM, and banks namely Bank of America Corp, ABN Amro, Wells Fargo & Co., and Royal Bank of Scotland Group, refrained from remarking about Group-IB's findings.

Neither ASA nor Europol offered statements regarding the assaults, however, investigations by the agencies maybe already going on in secret.

» SPAMfighter News - 11/25/2016