The number of cyber attacks is continuously increasing. With digital currencies becoming increasingly popular, crypto hackers are now targeting Bitcoin, Ethereum and the like. In the process, they are advancing into new dimensions.
2020 was the year of cyberattacks. According to the “Bundeslagebild Cybercrime 2020” (Federal Situation Report Cybercrime 2020), the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) registered more than 108,000 cases. This is an increase of around eight percent compared to the previous year.
This year will probably top that figure again, because the number of cyberattacks is rising inexorably. After cybercriminals have already captured millions of data from Facebook, LinkedIn and Spreadshirt in 2021, the Savings Banks Association of Baden-Württemberg, to which 50 savings banks institutions across the state are subordinate, has now been affected.
Cyber criminals blackmail savings banks association
The Savings Banks Association of Baden-Württemberg has become the victim of such a cyberattack. In the meantime, a company spokesperson officially confirmed this to the Reuters news agency.
He said that as early as August 9, 2021, the company discovered that unknown persons had gained access to internal data. However, the member savings banks and the responsible IT service provider Finanz Informatik were not affected. One day later, in turn, the association shut down its entire e-mail system as a precaution.
“Technical problems” still exist
The company spokesman stressed that the criminals threatened to publish sensitive information and demand a ransom. This is reportedly mainly data from internal email traffic as well as digital accounts.
So far, no data has been published. However, the association is in contact with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and other authorities.
The e-mail system of the savings bank association is still not accessible. The official website only mentions “technical problems”.
Crypto hackers capture $600 million
Meanwhile, it became known that crypto hackers have captured over $600 million in digital currencies from Poly Network. Via Twitter, the U.S.-based company announced that unknown persons had bypassed security measures and diverted the assets of thousands of customers to controlled accounts.
Poly Network confirmed that the criminals had taken over 600 million US dollars. Meanwhile, numerous users and the company itself spoke of the largest crypto theft in history.
Astonishing turnaround: Just under half of the loot transferred back
Only a short time later, the company asked the hackers via Twitter to transfer back the amounts and threatened with criminal consequences. Poly Network also emphasized that the loot was the investments of thousands of private individuals.
But what at first could have been seen as a desperate attempt was apparently successful. Because just a few hours after the tweet, the company recorded the first repayments. The subject lines read “Ready to return the fund” or “The hacker is ready to surrender”.
After numerous small amounts, the amounts gradually increased. In the meantime, Poly Network has already recovered over $342 million according to official data.
Via the transaction notes, the crypto hackers let it be known that they were not that interested in money and were hacking for fun. They said the criminals merely wanted to move the assets to safety and draw attention to the lax security measures in place. They would have already made enough money through the price gains as a result of the hack.
