If you're one of the many who envision hackers and identity thieves as pitiful, grubby men, slouched behind their computers in their parents' basements, peering at their computer screens with beady, glazed eyes, then the group of hackers that stole $9 million from global ATMs this past November might just put a new image in your mind.
According to Network World, these cyber criminals are more cat burglar than catatonic, having composed an attack plan worthy of a Hollywood screenplay.
In the first stage of their attack, the thieves hacked into electronic payment processing service RBS WorldPay, where they obtained the information contained in 100 units of the company's "payroll card," a sort of debit card where cash is directly "loaded" by an employer. Having accessed those 100 cards, the hackers then performed another hack, allowing them to "load" imaginary money onto the cards. With all that information, and money in the bank, the hackers simply made physical copies of those cards, most likely using one of the several legal, relatively cheap card printing machines.
Now, with cards in hand, the hackers recruited dozens of men to actually withdraw money from the ATMs. Having been briefed, those men (called "cashers") took to the streets of 49 cities around the world, where they hit up a total of 130 ATMs. All 130 of them -- from Atlanta to Moscow, New York to Hong Kong -- were hit in less than a half hour. The damages are estimated to be over $9 million, according to Heary.
At present, the FBI has not taken any suspects, only having posted images of these two suspected Atlanta cashers.
And the masterminds? We imagine they're all relaxing on a foreign beach, leisurely discussing what to do with the estimated 1.1 million Social Security numbers they retrieved from RBS WorldPay. Check out some other big tech-related heists in the gallery below. [From: Network World]
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According to Network World, these cyber criminals are more cat burglar than catatonic, having composed an attack plan worthy of a Hollywood screenplay.
In the first stage of their attack, the thieves hacked into electronic payment processing service RBS WorldPay, where they obtained the information contained in 100 units of the company's "payroll card," a sort of debit card where cash is directly "loaded" by an employer. Having accessed those 100 cards, the hackers then performed another hack, allowing them to "load" imaginary money onto the cards. With all that information, and money in the bank, the hackers simply made physical copies of those cards, most likely using one of the several legal, relatively cheap card printing machines.
Now, with cards in hand, the hackers recruited dozens of men to actually withdraw money from the ATMs. Having been briefed, those men (called "cashers") took to the streets of 49 cities around the world, where they hit up a total of 130 ATMs. All 130 of them -- from Atlanta to Moscow, New York to Hong Kong -- were hit in less than a half hour. The damages are estimated to be over $9 million, according to Heary.
At present, the FBI has not taken any suspects, only having posted images of these two suspected Atlanta cashers.
And the masterminds? We imagine they're all relaxing on a foreign beach, leisurely discussing what to do with the estimated 1.1 million Social Security numbers they retrieved from RBS WorldPay. Check out some other big tech-related heists in the gallery below. [From: Network World]
source