Pierluigi Paganini August 24, 2016

Thailand – A gang of foreign criminals stole millions of baht by hacking ATMs in the country. The gang is linked the one that hacked ATMs in Taiwan.

Hackers belonging to a cybercrime gang from Eastern Europe have stolen over 12 Million Baht (approximately US$346,000) from a 21 ATMs in Thailand. The crooks have targeted ATMs in Bangkok and other five provinces (Phuket, Chumphon, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phetchaburi, and Surat Thani), according to the local Police they hacked the network of the Thai bank.

“A manhunt is under way with police investigators suspecting the theft of more than 12 million baht from the state-run Government Savings Bank (GSB) is the work of Eastern European criminals and may be linked to the multiple attacks on ATMs of a major domestic bank in Taiwan in July. ” reported the Bangkok Post.

The Central Bank of Thailand (BoT) has issued a warning to all the banks operating in the country about security vulnerabilities that plague roughly 10,000 ATMs. It seems that hackers exploited such flaws to steal cash from the ATMs.

The warning issued by the Central Bank of Thailand follows the decision of the Government Savings Bank (GSB) to shut down roughly 3,000 ATMs of its 7,000 machines in response to a recent wave of attacks that targeted its machines.

Source The Bangkok Post

According to the GSB president Chartchai Payuhanaveechai, the cybercrime gang targeted the Automated Teller Machines of the manufacturer NCR.

According to the finding of an investigation conducted by the police, the cyber criminals infected many ATMs with a malware designed to instruct them to dispense cash on demand.

According to the GSB, the hackers have stolen millions of Thailand Baht between August 1 and 8.

“Their method involves stealing from the bank ATMs, not from customers’ accounts,” explained the GSB president Chartchai Payuhanaveechai.

The investigators reviewed security camera footage and identified potential suspects as foreign nationals.

As clarified by the Bank, the hackers only targeted the bank cash machines, meanwhile, customers are not affected.

Who is behind the hack of the Automated Teller Machines?

Thai police speculate the involvement of a gang of professional thieves composed of at least 25 Eastern European nationals. The same gang was involved in similar attacks against top eight banks in Taiwan. In Taiwan, the thieves have stolen NT$70 Million ($2.2 Million) in cash forcing the banks to shut down hundreds of their cash machines.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – hacking Cash machines, malware)