Taiwan Bank breach: One suspect nabbed in Colombo

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) launched investigation into the incident where an individual received Rs. 110 million to a local bank account, from a bank in Taiwan, which was hacked last week.

Sources at the CID said the suspect had withdrawn Rs. 30 million from the local bank on Wednesday and he was arrested on Friday, when he attempted to withdraw another Rs. 80 million.

He was produced in court and was remanded till Wednesday, October 11.

Sources said the CID was investigating into the incident using the CCTV footage of the bank, to identify another individual.

They said the detail of the suspect could not be revealed because of pending investigation.

Taiwan media reported that Premier Lai Ching-te on Saturday requested relevant agencies to review Taiwan’s information security after Far Eastern International Bank reported its system was hacked.

The Far Eastern Bank said it reported the breach to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) as well as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication’s (SWIFT) network.

“Through the planted malware, hackers conducted virtual transactions to move funds totaling nearly US$60 million from Far Eastern Bank customers’ accounts to some foreign destinations such as Sri Lanka, Cambodia and the United States,” the bank said on Tuesday.

It said:
“However, according to the bank, due to its efforts to trace back the lost funds, the hacker attacks cost the bank less than US$500,000.

“It added that since the bank continues to trace the lost funds by underpinning certain fund movements, the loss could be reduced to zero. It said the hacking did not lead to any leaks of customer information.

“The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday it has launched an investigation into the hacking incident by requesting the bank submit details about its computer operations after the bank reported the case to the bureau on Thursday.

“The CIB said that it has also informed the International Criminal Police Organisation of the case and asked for assistance. Due to the international assistance received, the CIB said the Bank’s losses were expected to fall below US$500,000.”