Global Lenders On Alert Following Bangladesh, Vietnam Bank Hacks

Bank hacks on a Vietnamese and Bangladesh Central Bank through the financial messaging system Swift are a cause of concern for banks around the world.

New details emerged on last year's Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank hack, according to a Bloomberg report. Swift codes were identified to be embedded into the string used by the hacker and they identified "at least seven additional financial institutions" in a report by BAE systems. These banks included prominent banks in China, Italy and even Europe.

The malware used to attack the Vietnamese bank didn't target the additional banks mentioned, but attacked transactions between the Vietnamese bank and the mentioned banks. Swift's own system wasn't breached, but the bank's was.

Swift has secured its messaging system with the proper modern measures. But the network that surrounds it is barely regulated as each member banks have their "own codes and varying levels of technology" when connecting through Swift Bloomberg stated. U.S. banks expect Swift to formulate a blanket solution for all of the connected parties instead of urging individual safe guards from each bank.

Swift needs to respond to this attack and the details that emerged in a way that is quick and effective as the threat of cyber attacks on banks still looms large.