SWIFT warns of new successful cyber thefts against banks

Cyber attacks targeting banks using the global transfer service SWIFT have successfully stolen funds in the months following February's Bangladesh central bank heist, according to a recently discovered letter sent to banks in November.

In the letter, sent on the 2 November to banks worldwide and uncovered today by Reuters, SWIFT warned that due to increasingly sophisticated attacks, there was an escalating threat against banks' systems. It read: "The threat is very persistent, adaptive and sophisticated - and it is here to stay."

Hackers successfully transferred $81 million from Bangladesh central bank in February via the SWIFT messaging service, before some of the money was recovered by officials. "We unfortunately continue to see cases in which some of our customers' environments are being compromised," said SWIFT in the letter, using similar tactics adopted by hackers in the Bangladesh heist. The letter stated that each attack involved customers' SWIFT account interfaces, and that its own central communications remained secure.