14 DAY TRIAL // Hackers managed to breach the Russian central bank and steal millions of dollars, but a bank official revealed today that several suspects were arrested shortly after the attack, without providing any information on their identity.
Reuters writes that Artyom Sychyov, deputy head of the Bank of Russia's security department, confirmed that the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Interior Ministry conducted several raids after the cyberattack and “multiple suspects” were arrested.
No other details were provided, but previous reports on the cyberheist revealed that in June this year approximately 50 people were arrested for being involved in the attack.
In a report published last week, Russia’s central bank acknowledged a hack that happened at an undisclosed date this year that allowed attackers to steal $31 million from its accounts.
Investigation continues
Although Russia has already managed to arrest so many suspects, it’s not yet clear if all (or any) are responsible for the attack, so authorities continue the investigation.
Also recently, the country said that it blocked a large-scale attack aimed at its financial system, explaining that hackers linked to a foreign intelligence service were planning to take down several banks using servers owned by a Ukrainian web hosting company.
Details were once again very scarce, but Russia explained that it detected several computers in the Netherlands that were supposed to be used in the attack. The hosting firm, however, denied the claims and said that Russia didn’t even contact them to discuss the findings.
“We reviewed all our systems and network and we have not found any abnormal pattern changes that could lead to FSB's allegations. We must assume FSB has been able to handle the situation without the need of BlazingFast's cooperation. Nevertheless, we hereby publicly demonstrate our willingness to cooperate with any legal entity,” the Ukrainian hosting firm said.
On the other hand, state-controlled Russian bank VTB says it experienced an attack anyway, but its servers managed to block it. No details regarding the source of the attacks or the date when they were launched were provided.