Bank Negara Malaysia foils cyber heist attempt

PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara Malaysia (Bank) detected and foiled a cybersecurity incident involving attempted unauthorised fund transfers using falsified SWIFT messages two days ago.
The amount involved in the incident which happened on March 27, 2018, was not disclosed.
In a statement release earlier, BNM said all unauthorised transactions were stopped through prompt action in strong collaboration with SWIFT, other central banks and financial institutions.
The central bank did not experience any financial loss in this incident. There was also no disruption to other payment and settlement systems that it operates.
BNM is presently conducting a comprehensive investigation in collaboration with local and international law enforcement agencies on the incident.
It said it will remain on high alert and always be on a state of readiness as future incidents will likely involve a higher degree of sophistication and design.
Financial institutions are advised to be vigilant of the heightened risk in cybersecurity and continue to strengthen their security safeguards against these incidences.
BNM assured members of the public that the Malaysian payment and settlement systems remained unaffected and continue to operate normally.