Webber Insurance Services Webber Insurance Services
Talk to an insurance broker

1300 932 237

Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us

      Read more about our Business and Partners.

      Find out more about the team at Webber Insurance, what our clients say and who we partner with to enable us to provide you with superior insurance products.

      Contact Us
      • About Us
      • Webber Insurance Group
      • Steadfast Insurance
      • Testimonials
    • Close
  • Blog
    • Blog Posts & Ultimate Guides

      Read our latest blog posts plus get further information on key topics in our ultimate guide pages.

      At Webber Insurance, we work to expand our clients understanding of a wide range of business risk management topics

      Latest Blogs
      • Ultimate Guide – Data Breach Notification
      • The Ultimate Guide to Cyber Insurance
      • Data Breaches In Australia
    • Close
  • Products
    • Insurance Products

      We will find you the right insurance product for your business.

      Use a qualified Insurance Broker to ensure that you have an insurance program that is tailored to your specific needs.

      Quick Quote
      • Asbestos Liability
      • Building Indemnity Insurance
      • Business Insurance
      • Commercial Legal Protection Insurance
      • Contract Works Insurance
      • Contractors Insurance
      • Corporate Travel Insurance
      • Cyber Insurance
      • IT Liability Insurance
      • Management Liability Insurance
      • Medical Indemnity Insurance
      • Plant & Equipment Insurance
      • Professional Indemnity Insurance
      • Public & Products Liability
    • Close
  • Occupations
    • Occupations

      We can source insurance for all kinds of occupations.

      As a specialist insurance broker, we have access to a range of local and overseas insurers who are capable of assisting with risks; large or small for all occupations

      Quick Quote
        • Accounting Insurance
        • Architect Insurance
        • Building Designer Insurance
        • Building Inspector Insurance
        • Consultants Insurance
        • Energy Raters Insurance
        • Engineers Insurance
        • Labour Hire / Recruitment
        • Project Management Insurance
        • Real Estate Agents
        • Tradesman Insurance
    • Close
  • Schemes
    • Schemes

      Insurance schemes for various occupations and industries.

      Webber Insurance has a number of insurance schemes that we have developed for specific industries and occupations.

        • ABSA TPA Assessors
        • Building Designer Association Australia (BDAA)
        • Building Design Queensland (Formerly BDAQ)
        • Building Designers Association WA (BDAWA)
        • Building Designer Insurance
        • Design Matters National (Formerly BDAV)
        • Energy Raters Insurance
    • Close
  • FAQ’s
  • Get a Quote
    • Get A Quote

      We work to simplify the insurance process for our clients.

      Complete one of our online proposal forms today to receive a quote for your insurance requirements

      Get A Quote
      • Annual Contract Works
      • Asbestos Liability
      • Cyber Insurance
      • One Off Contract Works
      • Professional Indemnity
      • Public Liability
      • Architects
      • Building Designer
      • Consultants
      • Engineers
      • Plant & Equipment
      • Tradesman
      • Accountants
      • Commercial Legal Expenses
      • Corporate Travel
      • IT Liability
      • Management Liability
      • Project Manager
    • Close
  • Claims
  • Contact
Webber Insurance Services Webber Insurance Services
Call Menu
  • Get a Quote
  • Make a Claim
  • Professional Indemnity Insurance
  • Products
    • Asbestos Liability
    • Business Insurance
    • Cyber Insurance
    • IT Liability Insurance
    • Contractors Insurance
    • Management Liability Insurance
  • Occupations
    • Accounting Insurance
    • Architect Insurance
    • Building Designer Insurance
    • Building Inspector Insurance
    • Consultants Insurance
    • Engineers Insurance
    • Energy Raters Insurance
    • Labour Hire & Recruitment Insurance
    • Real Estate Agents
    • Tradesman Insurance
  • Schemes
    • ABSA TPA Assessors
    • BDAA
    • BDAWA
    • Building Design Queensland
    • Design Matters National
    • Energy Raters Insurance
  • Contact
  • FAQ’s
  • About
    • Testimonials
  • Blog
    • The Ultimate Guide to Cyber Insurance
Feb 22
bank-heist

The Modern Day Bank Heist

  • February 22, 2015
  • Chris Webber
  • Insurance News

Imagine an ATM that was dispensing cash – even though no one had entered their card or had touched the keypad. To the cameras monitoring the ATMs, it simply looked like lucky pedestrians happened to be in the right place at the right time to sweep up the cash. Most of us would think that sounds too good to be true – and it was.

This wayward ATM was the catalyst prompting investigation that would uncover one of the most sophisticated and costly cyber attacks to take place yet.

What Happened?

A hacking gang is suspected of infiltrating the networks of approximately 100 banks in 30 countries to steal an estimated $1 billion over two years.

How did they do it? Unlike most cyber attacks, this group named Carbanak or Anuak managed to compromise the systems of the banks but instead of immediately stealing data or cash and potentially alerting security, they observed the inner workings of the systems to monitor how exactly the transactions took place.

The hackers were able to gain access to their systems through the relatively common method of phishing. They sent emails to employees containing information that looked to be from a trusted source containing a Windows or Office document attachment.

When the employees opened the attachment, this then injected malware into the targets computer – allowing complete access to their network.

With this access, the hackers then monitored the internal daily workings of the banking systems through recording keystrokes and taking screenshots every 20 seconds. This gave them a thorough understanding of how they could manipulate the internal systems rather than targeting the customers directly, as they are more closely monitored for fraud.

Armed with this information, the cyber criminals were able to mimic internal processes so accurately that they were able to conduct transfers to fake accounts they had setup without being detected, as they looked like an everyday transaction the bank would normally make.

This is also takes us back to the ATMs. The hackers were also able to target and control the remote access to the ATMs to instruct them to dispense sums of money, only to have one of their ‘money mules’ walk past at just the right time to collect the funds.

This more calculated approach to the theft allowed the hackers to go undetected for a substancial amount of time, which is a real concern for online security.

The Real Concern

As far as cyber attacks go, this one has been considered as one of the most sophisticated to take place.

Some banks were targeted multiple times while each individual compromise was estimated to rake in $10 million – all undetected for a considerable period of time.

To think this hack began from the tried and true method of phishing is a real concern and highlights the need for companies to increase their data security through ensuring that all of their software is current and up to date with all ‘patches’ and ‘fixes’, as well as implementing greater measures for scanning all incoming emails for such threats.

Secondly, and perhaps a more complicated issue to address is the need for more stringent internal auditing measures. In this case, there was no alert raised that indicated that these transactions were not being performed by bank employees, but rather external hackers posing as employees.

With this ever-changing online landscape, many experts believe it is better to assume your network has already been compromised and to continually monitor for unwanted manipulation rather than to simply rely on your to online security measures to successfully do their job – as we have seen in this case that something so simple as phishing to tear that all down.

Furthermore, it is possible to beat hackers at their own game by setting up fake internal honeypots and numerous other baiting techniques which will assist institutions in detecting an unwanted presence in their systems.

What we can take away from this case is the reminder that hackers are becoming more calculated and sophisticated in the orchestration of their attacks. Gone are the days of simply taking what they can, as fast as they can. These cyber criminals are more than willing to place hours and hours of time and energy into perfecting their plan to ensure they go undetected for a long as possible while subtly stealing millions.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • E-Mail
blank

About The Author

Chris Webber is the Director of Webber Insurance Services. Chris has been in the insurance industry for almost 15 years and is an SME business insurance specialist. The information on this blog and website is of a general nature only. It does not take into account your individual financial situation, objectives or needs. You should consider your own financial position and requirements before making a decision. We recommend you consult a licensed insurance broker in order to assist you.

Comments are closed.

[google-reviews-pro place_name=’Webber Insurance Services’ place_id=ChIJCdEpL7_OsGoRZ1anX5zt5sw rating_snippet=true view_mode=badge_inner lazy_load_img=true]

Recent Posts

  • Daniel Webber Named Winner of 2022 Elite Broker Award
  • Advisr Insurance Broker Awards 2021 – Daniel Webber Named Finalist
  • Nikia Goers Announced as Young Professional Broker of the Year Finalist
  • Daniel Webber Named Elite Broker for 2021
  • Daniel Webber Named Advisr’s Top South Australian Insurance Broker of 2020
  • Changes To Registration Requirements For Business Use Drones
  • We’ve Moved! Webber Insurance Services Office Relocation
  • NSW Building Designer Registration – An Update From Webber Insurance
  • Wimbledon To Receive $141 Million Insurance Payout Due To Cancellation
  • BDAA Hole In One Challenge

Contact us

  • Make an enquiry
  • Get a Quote
  • 1300 932 237
Webber Insurance Services
blankblankblank
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Financial Services Guide
  • Complaints & Disputes Handling
  • Code of Practice
© Copyright 2021 Webber Insurance Services

328A Magill Road, Kensington Park SA 5068

Webber Insurance Services Pty Ltd | ABN: 88 648 036 929 | CAR No: 413233

Authorised Representative of Webber Insurance Group Pty Ltd | AFSL: 488465 | ABN: 70 612 339 894 All rights reserved

Request Insurance Advice

Have a question or need advice from a qualified insurance broker?