International Hackers Embezzle Large-Scale Money from Armenian Banks

YEREVAN (Panorama.am) — According to the information provided by the National Security Service of Armenia (NSS), a specialized international criminal group is operating in the post-Soviet area. The group embezzles money by submitting emails, which contain malware software.

“Underscoring the security of personal data, corporate secrets and financial information the RA National Security Service calls on physical and legal entities to demonstrate healthy suspicion towards the revived emails, to immediately delete the ones received from non-official addresses or of unknown origin, or to undertake other safety measures.

Armenia’s NSS informs that an embezzlement case in the above-mentioned manner has also been uncovered in Armenia. The members of the criminal group composed of foreign citizens have submitted dozens of fake emails containing malware programs to the email addresses of the staff of a commercial bank operation in Armenia. The emails were sent on behalf of a state agency of Armenia. Through the malware the group managed to penetrate into the bank’s local area network and obtained the information stored there.

Later on, remote access software was installed on one of the bank’s servers the application of which has undermined the normal work of the automated teller machines of the bank. Later, after arriving Armenia, the members of the criminal group managed to unlawfully withdraw and appropriate significant amount of money totalling to 133 million AMD (US $270,000) from 22 ATMs located in differed parts of Yerevan and Abovyan cities.

The identities of the three individuals responsible for the mentioned crime have been revealed. They are Hennadi Kara, Yurii Abb and Oleksander Mirchev. The individuals have been involved as defendants within the criminal case launched by Armenia’s NSS. International search has been declared against them.

Currently, in cooperation with foreign competent bodies measures are taken to reveal other people involved in the crime.

The NSS informs that despite their hidden manner, cyber-crimes also leave some ‘traces” behind that allow to completely uncover the illicit mechanism.