Classic Email Scam Earns Thieves 40 Million Euros In a Single Heist

Hackers have hit hard in Bistrita. Europe’s biggest manufacturer of wires and electrical cables and the fourth-largest vendor in the world, Leoni AG, lost nearly 40 million Euros. The money was transferred by the Chief Financial Officer, who believed that he receives direct orders from his bosses in Germany.

Classic Email Scam Earns Thieves 40 Million Euros In a Single Heist

Europe’s biggest manufacturer of wires and electrical cables and the fourth-largest vendor in the world, Leoni AG, lost nearly 40 million Euros. Hackers have been extremely thorough. They cloned each e-mail to company heads. When asked for a transfer of funds from the subsidiary in Romania, CFO of Bistrita did not suspect anything.

According to the sources and reports “A complaint which was denounced fraud nearly 40 million was made to the Prosecutor of the Tribunal Bistrita-Nasaud”.

The company announced in a press release that it was the target of a cyber attack.

“Leoni AG was the victim of fraudulent activities conducted on the basis of forged identity documents and electronic communication channels. As a result, the company’s funds were transferred into foreign accounts. The damage amount is nearly 40 million. Criminal activities have not affected the IT infrastructure or data security” stated the company.

“Prosecutors started an investigation and have already made searches at Leoni headquarters in Bistrita. Also, the parent company has started an internal investigation to see exactly how the hackers managed to give gun 40 million euros,” Also added the company later.

IT specialists think it is likely that the route taken by the hackers can be recovered by the investigators.

“Harder, if covered their tracks well. Rather it would go on the money trail. The companies in Romania do not really focus on the cybersecurity,” said Tudor Constantin, who is an IT specialist.

A variant of securing email is the digital signature: a unique encryption which is almost impossible to copy.

Christian Sacar who is a Professor of Computer Science said “If you can forge signatures on paper by someone who has handmade, digital signature tamper unless it starts an attack already highly sophisticated, as it is difficult and hearsay of another caliber. We have a minimum education to guard us, to protect us or even to be suspicious”.

However, Leoni AG is the second company to fall for such a classic email scam this year. If we remember then earlier in the year 2016, a toy manufacturing company Mattel came close to lose $3 million in a phishing campaign. The German company Leoni AG has four branches in Romania and the Bistrita works for 14 years and has total 6,000 employees.