According to law enforcement agencies, a criminal mastermind, the leader of the crime gang dubbed Carbanak/Cobalt, has been caught by the police in Spain. The gang of hackers targeted people from over 40 countries, and had ended up affecting approximately one hundred financial institutions worldwide.
What is the Carbanak gang?
Europol stated that the first reports about hackers, launching Anunak malware campaign, started circulating in late 2013. The cyber criminals soon grew to be known as legends, swiftly attacking banks, e-payment systems and financial institutions while using pieces of malware. The gang of hackers was frequently dubbed Carbanak, but had another name: Cobalt. Specialists are disappointed by the success of this group as they have already stolen over 1 billion euros.
The first Anunak campaign targeted financial transfers and ATM networks of financial institutions. Not long after the initial attacks, Carbanak hackers decided to improve their malicious threat and make it more advanced. Therefore, cyber criminals began exploiting such strategies like spear phishing emails with malicious attachments. Because of these deceptive means, hackers were able to remotely access internal banking networks and compromise the servers of ATMs. After completing this stage of the attack, crooks are not far behind their prize.
In order to obtain money or ATMS, Carbanak gang used many shocking ways of getting every dollar they can. First of all, the remotely controlled ATM would be instructed to shoot money at a certain moment. Of course, at that moment, one of the Carbanak gang’s members is waiting nearby for an opportunity to take the cash home. Secondly, the e-payment networks would be exploited for the purpose of sending money from a legitimate company, into criminals’ accounts. Lastly, money mules were used to gather cash after databases with account info were modified so bank accounts balance would be inflated.
Carbanak leader arrested in Spain
Finally, an international police operation, led by Europol and other law-enforcement agencies, managed to track down the (or one of the leaders) Carbanak group of hackers. Despite their stealthy activity and millions of dollars, the party seems to be over, since the gang’s future remains vague. The suspected leader Denis K, a Ukrainian national, has been arrested in Alicante by the Spanish Police. In addition to being involved with “jackpotting” of ATMs, it is also explained that he has obtained over $120 million worth of bitcoins. Soon after the arrest of Danis, another person was detained in Kiev.
Source: europol.
