Before Massive Bangladesh Heist, New York Fed Feared Such Cyber Attacks

[Ron Burgundy]

In the years before hackers stole $81 million from a Bangladesh central bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, senior Fed security officials examined the risk of such an attack - but judged the prospect unlikely, bank sources told Reuters. The Fed managers worried that lax security procedures and outdated technology at some foreign central banks could allow cyber-criminals to commandeer local computers and breach foreign accounts at the U.S. central bank, according to interviews with seven current and former New York Fed officials and a former U.S. government official familiar with the discussions. Over several years, New York Fed and Federal Bureau of Investigation officials discussed the risk of an attack made using the banking system’s communications network, known as SWIFT, according to Fed and government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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