29.3.2018 thehackernews CyberCrime
Spanish Police has arrested the alleged leader of an organised Russian cybercrime gang behind the Carbanak and Cobalt malware attacks, which stole over a billion euros from banks worldwide since 2013.
In a coordinated operation with law enforcement agencies across the globe, including the FBI and Europol, Police detained the suspected leader of Carbanak hacking group in Alicante, Spain.
Carbanak hacking group started its activities almost five years ago by launching a series of malware attack campaigns such as Anunak and Carbanak to compromise banks and ATM networks, from which they swiped millions of credit card details from US-based retailers.
According to the Europol, the group later developed a sophisticated heist-ready banking malware known as Cobalt, based on the Cobalt Strike penetration testing software, which was in use until 2016.
"The magnitude of the losses is significant: the Cobalt malware alone allowed criminals to steal up to EUR 10 million per heist," Europol said.
In order to compromise bank networks, the group sent malicious spear-phishing emails to hundreds of employees at different banks, which if opened, infected computers with Carbanak malware, allowing hackers to transfer money from the banks to fake accounts or ATMs monitored by criminals.
According to the authorities, the criminal profits were also laundered via cryptocurrencies, through prepaid cards linked to the cryptocurrency wallets, which were used to buy goods such as luxury cars and houses.
In early 2017, the gang of financially-motivated cybercriminals was found abusing various Google services to issue command and control (C&C) communications for monitoring and controlling the machines of its victims.
