Event description

The internal portal of First Partner Bank, designed to connect corporate clients to the SBP (Fast Payment System), has become the target of a hacker attack. Part of the portal’s sections are unavailable, and a provocative message has appeared on the main page: "Your security is an illusion. We are always nearby". The processing of applications for connection to the SBP has been suspended, which has already caused delays in the launch of services for a number of partners.

The bank is actively restoring the system and conducting an investigation. However, the incident has already led to serious reputational consequences, undermining the trust of First Partner Bank’s corporate clients. Major partners are demanding explanations and revising the terms of cooperation.

Consequences

1. Loss of clients
2. Reputational damage
3. System failures

Event description

The ability to make instant payments has turned into a nightmare for First Partner Bank customers: an unknown hacker group carried out a large-scale and carefully planned fraudulent operation.

The attackers replaced the QR codes on the pages of online stores with fake ones. Visually, it was impossible to distinguish the fake from the original. Customers, confident in the security of the technology, transferred funds… but not to the sellers, but directly to the scammers.

According to sources, the fake QR codes passed all authenticity checks and did not trigger the bank’s anti-fraud systems. It is not yet known how the hackers managed to bypass the protective mechanisms. However, it has already been established that shortly before the attack, the attackers gained access to First Partner Bank’s internal infrastructure.

The organization is investigating the incident, and the management has already apologized. However, this was not enough: the victims lost millions and are already preparing collective lawsuits. The incident has caused a significant public resonance and has attracted the attention of regulators.

Consequences

1. Financial damage
2. Litigation
3. Loss of clients
4. Public discontent
5. Reputational damage

Event description

Convenient payments have led to customers losing a lot of money and the bank losing the trust of its customers. It is reported that one of the known hacker groups has managed to bypass two-factor authentication and exploited this vulnerability to make payments using QR codes. So far, it remains unclear how exactly the attackers managed to do this.

The bank issued an official apology to the customers and suspended QR code payments, isolating part of the infrastructure. This announcement comes too late to avoid multiple lawsuits filed by the victims.

Consequences

1. Financial damage
2. Litigation
3. Loss of clients
4. Reputational damage

Event description

A major data leak occurred at First Partner Bank. Information about devices used for two-factor authentication (model, operating system, software versions) was put up for sale on the darknet. Although the perpetrators did not get their hands on passwords and access codes, experts note that the leaked information will make it easier for hackers to carry out targeted attacks.

Representatives of the bank have already announced the start of an investigation. They also urged their clients to update the software on their devices to protect themselves from hacking.

Consequences

1. Confidential data leak
2. Loss of clients
3. Reputational damage

Event description

Hackers defaced the login page of the First Partner Bank’s remote banking system with the text "Your money—our goal." Frightened clients are transferring their savings to accounts in other banks.

Representatives of First Partner Bank claim that their users' information and money are safe, and the incident was nothing more than a stunt from competitors. However, the organization is unlikely to be able to regain the trust of its customers…

Consequences

1. Public discontent
2. Reputational damage

This has happened before

HackRead

Turkish hackers deface Russian bank website

A group of Turkish hackers going by the online handle WKPF hacked and defaced the official website of Russia’s Joint-Stock Commercial Bank for Reconstruction and Development "Ekonombank".

Event description

An archive with account credentials of First Partner Bank clients is rapidly spreading on hacker forums. Users fear that now scammers will withdraw all the funds from their accounts. For the bank, the incident will result not only in a blow to its reputation but also in legal proceedings.

Consequences

1. Confidential data leak
2. Litigation
3. Loss of clients
4. Reputational damage

This has happened before

Business insider

533 million Facebook users' phone numbers and personal data have been leaked online

A user in a low-level hacking forum on Saturday published the phone numbers and personal data of hundreds of millions of Facebook users for free.

The exposed data includes the personal information of over 533 million Facebook users from 106 countries, including over 32 million records on users in the US, 11 million on users in the UK, and 6 million on users in India. It includes their phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and, in some cases, email addresses.

Event description

For the longest time, First Partner Bank services functioned just fine with an unnoticed critical vulnerability in QR code authentication, which was recently discovered by hackers, who exploited it to access the bank accounts of clients.

The incident came to light only after the clients noticed missing funds: the perpetrators were logging into their accounts and transferring money to their wallets. One in three bank clients had their accounts completely emptied. The victims are in despair and are already preparing to file lawsuits against the bank.

Consequences

1. Financial damage
2. Litigation
3. Loss of clients
4. Public discontent
5. Reputational damage

This has happened before

ZDNet

Chinese hacker group caught bypassing 2FA

Security researchers say they found evidence that a Chinese government-linked hacking group has been bypassing two-factor authentication (2FA) in a recent wave of attacks. The group, known as APT20, has been busy hacking government entities and managed service providers. According to researchers, the hackers used web servers as the initial point of entry into a target’s systems, with a particular focus on JBoss, an enterprise application platform often found in large corporate and government networks.

Event description

An unknown hacker group managed to breach First Partner Bank’s infrastructure and extract the source code of the microservice used for QR code payment confirmation in the marketplace operated by the bank and its partners. Since this leak could be used in future cyberattacks, the bank has launched an investigation and is already taking measures to protect its systems.

For now, it’s clear that First Partner Bank’s reputation is at stake. Clients and partners lost trust in the company and are scrambling to close their accounts en masse. As the investigation is ongoing, the bank had to temporarily shut down the marketplace, which only fueled public outrage.

Consequences

1. Confidential data leak
2. Public discontent
3. Reputational damage

Event description

First Partner Bank is no longer the top choice for marketplace operations. The potential customers are reluctant to open trading accounts with the bank, and partner trust has been shattered.

The infrastructure provided by the bank for online trading turned out to be very friendly and transparent (just as advertised) — for cybercriminals as well as clients. Hackers managed to break into the hosting control panel, causing damage to both the bank and the online shops. Some of these shops have been made to sell illegal goods, while in others, the hackers announced "Everything Must Go" sales.

Meanwhile, the clients of First Partner Bank are facing massive losses. No one knows when the service will be put back online and, more importantly, whether anyone will want to use it again.

Consequences

1. Financial damage
2. Loss of clients
3. Public discontent
4. Reputational damage

Event description

The Quality Goods House shop chain accuses its competitors of hiring hackers to obtain secret information about sales volumes of the company’s outlets. The cybercriminals hacked a bank that provides its services to the company, obtained keys to a merchant portal, and retrieved data on the company’s employees, outlets, and financial operations. Now the competitors can easily squeeze Quality Goods House out of the market by opening their shops in the most popular places with the same high-demand goods.

Consequences

1. Loss of clients
2. Reputational damage

This has happened before

Midwest Community

How do merchant data breaches affect your identity?

Every year millions of Americans become victims of fraud due to merchant data breaches. And, with the recent Equifax breach, which affected 145.5 million people, chances are your information has been compromised.