Eight indicted in card hack
A US grand jury has indicted eight non-nationals on charges of hacking into a computer network used by credit card processing firm RBS WorldPay and stealing over $9m (£5.9m).
The US Justice Department said yesterday that the group was accused of compromising the data encryption used by Atlanta-based RBS WorldPay, part of Royal Bank of Scotland, and gaining access to accounts a year ago.
“This investigation has broken the back of one of the most sophisticated computer-hacking rings in the world,” said Sally Quillian Yates, the acting US attorney for northern Georgia. US cybersecurity officials long have been worried about hacks into global financial networks that could harm the financial system.
This indictment marked the latest in a series of cases that have highlighted the risk to such networks. It comes about two months after a 28-year-old computer hacker from Miami pleaded guilty to charges that he helped lead a worldwide ring that stole more than 40m credit and debit card numbers.
The ring was charged with hacking data for payroll debit cards, which enable employees to withdraw their salaries from automated teller machines. Those accused in the case allegedly raised the limits on some cards so they could withdraw the money.
More than $9m was withdrawn in less than 12 hours from more than 2,100 ATMs around the world, the Justice Department said, adding that RBS WorldPay immediately reported the breach once it was discovered.
The Justice Department identified the accused in this latest case as five Estonians, one Russian, one Moldovan and one individual whose nationality was not specified.