Bank of Valletta · 2019-02
Bank of Valletta was identified in UN and U.S. law-enforcement reporting as a 2019 Maltese bank cyber-heist tied to North Korean cyber-enabled financial crime. The linked evidence places the case within DPRK/RGB-directed operations involving SWIFT-enabled bank theft, laundering of stolen proceeds, and broader sanctions-evasion revenue generation targeting financial institutions and cryptocurrency entities.
Attempted theft of 14.5M USD from the Bank of Valletta (BOV) on 13 February. Before being reversed, transfers · Feb 2019
Annex 21: Suspected DPRK cyber-attacks on financial institutions (including banks and cryptocurrency exchanges) investigated by the Panel. A. Banks. Attempted theft of 14.5M USD from the Bank of Valletta (BOV) on 13 February. Before being reversed, transfers were made to banks located in the UK, the US, Czech Republic, and Hong Kong, China. "phishing" activity using the same digital fingerprint had been detected since October 2018.
Cyber-enabled heist from a Maltese bank · February 2019
Alaumary also conspired with Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, aka "Ray Hushpuppi," and others to launder funds from a North Korean-perpetrated cyber-enabled heist from a Maltese bank in February 2019.
Bank of Valletta · 2019-02
Reported: 2019-02; Victims: Bank of Valletta; Motivations: FinancialGain; Sectors: Finance; Countries: Malta
Coordination with Ghaleb Alaumary on accounts to receive Maltese Bank transfers · In January and February 2019
Overt Act No. 11: In January and February 2019, defendant KIM IL or another hacker communicated with unindicted coconspirator Ghaleb Alaumary regarding bank accounts that could receive false and fraudulent wire transfers from the Maltese Bank. [Case No. 2:20-cr-00614, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California; filing: SEALED INDICTMENT filed as to Jon Chang Hyok]
Fraudulent wire transfers from the Maltese Bank · On February 12, 2019
Overt Act No. 12: On February 12, 2019, having gained unauthorized access to the Maltese Bank’s computer network at an earlier date, the hackers conducted false and fraudulent wire transfers totaling approximately $6.4 million and €7.1 million to bank accounts in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Czech Republic. [Case No. 2:20-cr-00614, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California; filing: SEALED INDICTMENT filed as to Jon Chang Hyok]
Cyber-heist of a Maltese bank (funds laundered by Alaumary) · 2019
The funds included those from a 2019 North Korean-perpetrated cyber-heist of a Maltese bank.
actors: Lazarus Group and Advanced Persistent Threat 38 (APT38)
These North Korean military hacking units are known by multiple names in the cybersecurity community, including Lazarus Group and Advanced Persistent Threat 38 (APT38). ... Attempts from 2015 through 2019 to steal more than $1.2 billion from banks in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Mexico, Malta, and Africa
dollar figures: Attempted theft of 14.5M USD
Feb 2019 Malta Attempted theft of 14.5M USD from the Bank of Valletta (BOV) on 13 February.
dollar figures: approximately $6.4 million and €7.1 million
On February 12, 2019, having gained unauthorized access to the Maltese Bank's computer network at an earlier date, the hackers conducted false and fraudulent wire transfers totaling approximately $6.4 million and €7.1 million to bank accounts in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Czech Republic.