Hackers Compromise Bangladesh Bank Security Due To Cheap Routers And No Firewall

Last month, news about hackers attempting to steal from the Federal Reserve bank of Bangladesh made the rounds. These hackers targeted $1 billion from the bank account but only managed to successfully wire $80 million.

Investigators back then didn’t explain how the hackers managed to breach the bank’s security network.

But now, the truth is out and apparently, the hackers succeeded in their job because there was never a security solution from the bank. With the absence of this security solution, the hackers successfully stole $81 million and only a spelling error stopped the completion of wiring the rest of the amount.

Apart from the absence of a firewall, the bank only used second-hand switches, costing $10, to network computers that are linked to the SWIFT global payment network, as reported by Reuters.

“It could be difficult to hack if there was a firewall,” forensic investigator Mohammad Shah Alam explained to the news outlet. The firewall is supposed to stop hackers and malware from carrying out their malicious attacks. However, the bank failed to have this solution, and in addition to this, they used cheap routers that made it difficult to track down the hackers.

Alam shared in an interview that authorities blame the Federal Reserve bank, as well as SWIFT, for this major lapse in security solutions. “It was their responsibility to point it out but we haven’t found any evidence that they advised before the heist,” Alam said, referring to SWIFT. At the moment, a spokesperson for SWIFT has not made any comment regarding the issue.

The authorities have yet to identify who is behind this illicit activity and investigators continue to piece the puzzle to identify the suspects. Financial institutions should take it as a reminder that security solutions should be updated and tightened to avoid future attacks from hackers.