Credit Mutuel Arkea reports €100 million loss following cyberattack

संक्षेप में

Credit Mutuel Arkea reported fraudulent transfers of approximately 100 million euros ($112 million) following a cyberattack.
The bank stated the attack was 'contained' and that client accounts were not accessed or affected by the losses.
The Paris public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into an 'attack on an automated data processing system by an organized group.'
Stolen funds were reportedly converted into cryptocurrencies on specialized platforms.

French regional bank Credit Mutuel Arkea announced it has been the victim of a cyberattack that resulted in fraudulent transactions amounting to approximately 100 million euros ($112 million).

Details of the attack

Credit Mutuel Arkea stated on Wednesday that the attack has been "contained." According to the bank, hackers gained access to Arkea's own accounts to make transfers to other banks. The bank clarified that the hackers did not access client accounts and that clients did not suffer any losses.

Arkea noted that the stolen funds were converted into cryptocurrencies on specialized platforms. The bank stated that a portion of the funds has been blocked and that efforts are underway to recover the money. The institution ruled out human error as the cause of the transfers, stating it "was a sophisticated attack coming from the outside."

While the bank acknowledged the scale of the losses, it did not confirm a figure of $133 million reported by the newspaper Le Telegramme. The bank added, "The amount of funds concerned by the attack, which is still being evaluated, was not… such as to undermine the financial health and solidity of the group."

Investigation and response

The Paris public prosecutor's office stated in a statement to AFP that it has opened an official investigation into the matter. The investigation concerns an "attack on an automated data processing system by an organized group."

Credit Mutuel Arkea's spokesperson declined to identify the third-party service provider whose platform was used in the attack. The spokesperson said the bank has informed the European Central Bank, French banking supervisors, and prosecutors.

In response to the incident, the bank temporarily suspended some transactions as a precaution, which resulted in delays to some transfers. A spokesperson rejected media reports suggesting that the bank's online banking subsidiary, Fortuneo, was the entry point for the attack, stating there was no "entry" through Fortuneo and that neither the division nor its customers' accounts were involved.

Context and background

Credit Mutuel Arkea is a Brittany-based French mutual banking group that manages €211.5 billion in assets and serves more than 5.8 million customers. The lender reported a net profit of 230 million euros in the first half of the year.

Earlier in the week, ZachXBT, an independent investigator specializing in tracking funds on the blockchain, revealed the fraud on social media. The anonymous online sleuth stated the stolen funds were routed through multiple accounts opened on cryptocurrency exchange platforms.

This incident follows other recent cyber activity, including the theft of $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency from the Binance exchange last week and a wave of cyberattacks targeting internet-connected fridges in Europe.

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