More than USD 17 million stolen by hackers from Russian banks in 2017

Cobalt Strike is a security tool used to test the strength of an organization’s cyber defences, but it has also been used by hackers to attack banks in Russia and Europe. It has hit more than 240 credit organizations, with 11 fallen into the hands of criminals. The amount stolen was more than 1 billion roubles, the equivalent of USD 17 million.

There is also a criminal group called Cobalt which uses the malicious software to force the ATMs to spit out cash. Russian central bank had sent warnings to more than 400 organizations which were targeted by the group in 2017.

Russia is under intense scrutiny over cybercrime following accusations that Moscow has launched numerous cyber-attacks on the US and Europe, accusations that Kremlin has repeatedly denied, the online publication continues. Russian authorities are now keen to show that Russia too is a frequent victim of cybercrime and that they are working hard to fight against it.