North Korean Hacker Group Behind Cyber Theft Of $60M From Taiwanese International Bank

Cybersecurity firm BAE Systems Plc said on Monday that North Korean hacker group is likely responsible for a cyber-theft of $60 million from Taiwan’s Far Eastern International Bank.

The cyberattack, in which malware was used to steal the money through the international Swift banking network, bore “some of the hallmarks” of Lazarus, a hacking group linked to North Korea, according to the British Firm.

The British firm had linked Lazarus to last year's $81 million cyber heist at Bangladesh's central bank, as have other cyber firms including Russia's Kaspersky Lab and California-based Symantec Corp.

The malware used against Far Eastern has been seen in previous attacks by the group in Poland and Mexico, the researchers said. The firm says that some of the money was routed to beneficiary accounts in Sri Lanka and Cambodia -- countries that have been used previously “as destinations for Lazarus’ bank heist activity”.

Sri Lankan police have arrested two people in connection with the Far Eastern theft, in which hackers wired the cash to accounts in Asia and the U.S. About $59.9 million had been recovered by the bank or frozen at receiving banks, Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau said last Friday.