Despite countless headlines about companies and governments being hacked, it seems some businesses just haven’t quite gotten around to putting even the most basic security into place.
The Bangladesh Bank at the center of an attempted $950 million cyber fraud was using network switches that cost $10 and didn’t even have a firewall according to an investigator looking into the hack cited by Reuters today.
The switches, which can cost hundreds of dollars each, rather than $10, were used to connect the bank’s systems to the SWIFT payment network. By penetrating the systems, the hackers could then initiate payments using the bank’s credentials. According to a statement given to Reuters, the bank was advised to upgrade the switches only after the hack had taken place.
While millions of dollars were transferred successfully by the hackers, the rouse fell apart for the most mundane of reasons: a misspelling on a form raised alarm bells.
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