Cyber-thieves Nearly Stole $170 Million From Union Bank of India:

Hackers launched an attack against the Union Bank of India that was very similar to the Bangladesh bank heist that resulted in the theft of millions last year.

The attempt started after a bank employee opened up an email attachment that appeared to come from the RBI but actually contained malware that allowed hackers to steal the state-run bank’s data. They tried to steal Union Bank of India’s access codes for SWIFT to transfer funds to a bank account at Citigroup in New York.

The attempt closely resembled the cyber theft last year of more than $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank’s account at the New York Federal Reserve. The opening of the email attachment, which looked like it had come from India’s central bank, initiated the malware that hackers used to steal Union Bank’s access codes for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a system that lenders use for international transactions. The codes were used to send transfer instructions for about $170 million to a Union Bank account at Citigroup Inc in New York. Union Bank was able to trace the fraud and blocked the movement of funds.