Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has lost more than €100 million in a cyberattack, according to information reported on November 4. The amount has not been finalized and could rise. The attack has highlighted the vulnerability of European banks, which had considered themselves well protected against such incidents.
The hackers reportedly compromised a computer belonging to an employee or an external party authorized to make transactions. This gave them access to the bank’s systems and its own funds. More than €100 million was taken from the €10 billion Arkéa holds in capital, with the stolen money originating from its online bank, Fortuneo.
The funds were converted into cryptocurrency and sent across several trading platforms. Kraken, a US-based exchange, raised the alarm on November 3 after receiving transfers it considered unusually large for a European bank, and stopped transactions that were still underway.
The method reportedly resembles an attack on cryptocurrency platform Binance on October 29, in which hackers also exploited a compromised computer belonging to someone with transaction permissions.
Sources: Le Monde Économie.