{"id":6294,"date":"2025-10-24T10:12:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T10:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intnews.it\/?p=6294"},"modified":"2025-10-24T10:12:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T10:12:26","slug":"cyber-review-billion-dollar-heist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intnews.it\/en\/cyber-review-billion-dollar-heist\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyber Review:\u00a0Billion Dollar Heist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In 1995, Johnny Mnemonic<\/em> envisioned a cyberpunk future of data couriers and information-hungry megacorporations. In 2023, with Billion Dollar Heist<\/em>, the vision is no longer so dystopian: reality has materialized and surpassed fantasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, we are talking about a docu-thriller that recounts the sensational attempted theft of one billion dollars<\/strong> from the Central Bank of Bangladesh<\/strong>, orchestrated in 2016 by a well-structured group of cybercriminals, linked, according to investigations, to North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No neural chips, no science fiction plot. Just what we would today call state-sponsored cybercriminal groups<\/strong>, capable of infiltrating global banking systems by exploiting technical weaknesses, flawed procedures, and the most fragile element: the human being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The documentary reconstructs the attackers’ modus operandi<\/em> step by step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, targeted phishing<\/strong>: infected emails sent to key bank employees, which allowed malware to be installed and opened a breach in the internal network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, the exploitation of vulnerabilities<\/strong>: outdated, poorly monitored systems that allowed for undisturbed lateral movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they gained access to the systems, the group managed to compromise the SWIFT<\/strong> messaging system, the backbone of the international financial system, through which billions of dollars are managed daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final phase was as simple as it was devastating: sending transfer orders for hundreds of millions to foreign accounts, disguised as legitimate operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theft was not completed only thanks to a combination of chance occurrences, including a typo in one request and delayed checks by some correspondent banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cyber Themes: Not Science Fiction, Just Criminal Routine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The film highlights a crucial point: the attackers did not use hyper-technological techniques or sophisticated zero-days. The heist was carried out with tools that every red teamer knows well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n