A report by Japan Post Bank mentions that the recent theft suffered by multiple accounts from its customers was due to a series of security breaches in its payment services, an incident that has led to losses of 60 million yen (almost $570,000 USD).
As a security measure, the bank asked customers using its e-banking services to try to secure money that has not been compromised.
During this week the number of illegitimate cash withdrawals increased to 380, representing an increase in malicious activity of almost 300% compared to the day the attack began. Naito Ikeda, president of Japan Post Bank, has already spoken out: “We strongly apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this incident has caused,” he said at a press conference.
One of the solutions the bank has proposed is to repay the stolen funds, although this plan could take until the end of October. Because the incident was possible by hacking some electronic smartphone payment services, dozens of banks in Japan and Asia decided to suspend the registration of new users and companies for major mobile operators.
This is not the only security incident that has affected the bank in recent times; Japan Post Bank was also involved in another series of illegal withdrawals in which nearly 100 million yen of only six accounts were lost. Apparently the operators of this attack had internal collaboration.
In response to the incidents, Japan Post Bank implemented a stricter personal identification process to prevent the opening of unauthorized accounts. The bank decided that it will only accept photo identification, such as a driver’s license, in the process of opening bank accounts.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
