Lucknow: A bank employee on Wednesday foiled a bid of looting 146 crore rupee from the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Bank Limited in Lucknow, police said. Cyber criminals were attempting to steal the money with the support of a former employee of the bank.
The bank Managing Director suspended 10 officials, including Hazratganj branch manager, cashier and a guard and lodged an FIR with the cyber cell of the Uttar Pradesh Police.
A senior bank officers informed that the current security agency of the bank has been blacklisted.
Two retired bank employees, RS Dubey and GS Chauhan, have been detained and an audit from the I-T Department has also been sought.
Preliminary investigation
According to preliminary investigation, the hackers corrupted the security system of the Hazratganj branch of the bank and attempted to steal the money.
The heist bid came into the light after a branch staff suddenly noticed an online transfer of Rs 146 crore from the bank account to seven different accounts in other banks.
The immidiately stopped the transfer of funds and foiled the cyber hackers’ bid to defraud the bank.
The official contacted higher authorities and the transactions were cancelled.
Probe report
The role of a former cooperative bank employee has reportedly come under investigation, according to reports. According to reports, this former employee entered the bank branch with an unidentified person and reportedly interfered with the system.
Two UPCB workers’ IDs were exploited to make internet transfers totaling several crores of rupees. Three employees are also being questioned by the police.
Triveni Singh, Superintendent of Police, Cyber Cell, stated that experts will perform a forensic audit of the machines utilised for transactions.
The roles of other employees are also being scrutinised because all the systems were password protected, which appears to have been compromised, according to Singh.
The following people have been placed on administrative leave: General Manager (GM) Ashok Kumar, General Manager (Finance) K.D. Pathak, Deputy General Manager Rajnath Singh, Assistant General Manager Vivek Singh, Dhruv Raj Singh, Manager Mewalal, Assistant Manager (RTGS Cell), Ajay Kumar, Cashier Vikas Kumar Pandey, and Guard Vijay Bahadur Maurya.
Bank’s online security system
V.K. Mishra, general manager of UPCB, claims that on October 15, an unnamed suspect broke into the bank’s online security system and stole Rs 72 crore from the bank’s official account.
The money was saved by blocking the account after bank staff promptly noticed the withdrawal.
Before the hackers could complete the second transaction, they were also thwarted in their second attempt to steal Rs 74 crore from the same bank account.
“The bank’s funds are secure. The accused failed to obtain even one rupee “Mishra stated.
Following the two successive breaches, bank authorities filed a FIR with the cyber crime cell against unknown individuals.
Mishra informed: “Our information indicates that on Saturday, the day the cyber breach was attempted, around 8:30 am, the retired bank manager and his assistant entered the bank’s Hazratganj headquarters building. Security guard Shailendra Kumar pursued them after spotting them engaging in some questionable activities. Noting that there were no bank staff present that day.”
Cybercrime cell DIG N. Kolanachi said: “The fact that the thieves knew the bank account’s password is what surprises me the most. Whether the system was hacked or the password was compromised is something our team is working to determine. Within two to three days, things will become more evident as the examination continues.”
