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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →In an APT-style bank attack, intruders can quietly compromise a bank’s own technology, learn how staff and payment systems operate, and then try to send fraudulent payment instructions that look legitimate. The theft may continue after the transfer as criminals move the money through intermediaries. In the Bangladesh Bank case, Swift said the attackers compromised the bank’s IT environment—not Swift’s network or core messaging services.
What “APT-style” means in a bank attack
Here, “APT-style” describes a persistent, targeted pattern: attackers establish access, stay quiet while learning about a particular institution, and act when they believe they can avoid detection. It does not prove that an attack was state-sponsored, or that all such thefts were carried out by one group. The sources describe criminal operations and named groups, but do not establish a single actor behind every bank attack.
Swift’s 10 April 2019 threat report said attackers in its investigations sometimes spent weeks or months inside a target environment before attempting fraud. Group-IB’s research into the Cobalt group reported about three weeks of studying victim networks. Those are observations from particular investigations, not a standard timeline for every intrusion.
How an attack can turn access into a fraudulent payment
The broad pattern is a progression from intrusion to payment fraud, not simply a criminal breaking into a payment network and transferring money directly. The details vary by bank and architecture; the following describes the stages at a high level rather than a recipe.
- Gain a foothold in the bank’s environment. Attackers compromise local systems or accounts and seek a route toward the technology and staff involved in payment operations.
- Observe normal work. They study processes, timing, system behavior, and payment patterns so that a later instruction is less likely to stand out.
- Reach payment-related systems. The objective may be systems used to generate payment instructions or receive confirmations, rather than the messaging service itself.
- Attempt fraudulent instructions. The attackers try to make unauthorized payments appear consistent with legitimate activity. A bank may block some attempts while others are accepted.
- Move the proceeds. After a transfer, criminals may use intermediaries and other methods to obscure the path of the money.
Group-IB’s Cobalt research described a group that studied victim networks and targeted ATMs, followed by SWIFT, card-processing, and payment-gateway systems. Group-IB also reported cooperation between Cobalt and Anunak/Carbanak on some SWIFT thefts. These are vendor-reported findings about particular operations, not a description of every bank intrusion. Group-IB estimated that Cobalt operations stole approximately US$1 billion from more than 100 banks in 40 countries.
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Was SWIFT hacked?
In the Bangladesh Bank case, Swift said its network, software, and core messaging services were not compromised. The attackers had penetrated the bank’s IT environment and reached systems used to generate Swift instructions and receive confirmations. As then-Swift chief executive Gottfried Leibbrandt put it, “In Bangladesh and the other cases, the thieves compromised the IT environment and worked their way to the bank systems where the Swift instructions are generated and the confirmations received.”
The distinction matters: Swift is a financial messaging service, while a bank’s local environment includes the institution’s own systems and controls. Saying “hackers hacked Swift” blurs that distinction and misstates Swift’s account of the Bangladesh incident.
How much money was taken in the Bangladesh Bank heist?
The figures refer to different stages of the incident and should not be treated as interchangeable. ISACA’s 2023 account says attackers sent 35 payment instructions in February 2016.
| Stage or outcome | Amount | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|
| Attempted | Close to US$1 billion | The approximate total the attackers tried to take. |
| Authorized and paid | US$101 million | The amount ISACA says was authorized and paid across five transactions. |
| Traced to the Philippines | US$81 million | The portion ISACA says was traced to the Philippines. |
| Stopped and later retrieved | US$20 million | A transaction to Sri Lanka that was stopped and later retrieved, according to ISACA. |
So the near-US$1 billion figure describes the attempted theft, not the amount that went through. The World Bank’s account notes that its incident description relied mainly on news reports and included details that were not corroborated; finer-grained claims from that account should therefore be treated cautiously.
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Why payment fraud may evade simple rules
Attackers can adapt the timing and destination patterns that a payment-monitoring system might otherwise flag. In its 2019 report, Swift said actors shifted from issuing fraudulent payments outside business hours to acting during business hours to blend in with legitimate traffic. It also reported that most fraudulent transactions examined over the preceding 15 months used payment corridors not seen in the previous 24 months.
Swift’s report described several historical findings from its investigations, not current global prevalence:
- Four out of five investigated fraudulent transactions were sent to beneficiary accounts in East and South East Asia.
- Approximately 70 per cent of attempted thefts were USD-based.
- The value of individual attempted fraudulent transactions had shifted from more than US$10 million to between US$250,000 and US$2 million.
These findings help explain why a control that looks only for a familiar hour, corridor, or transaction size can be insufficient. Swift’s 2019 guidance emphasized monitoring payment patterns, sharing timely threat intelligence, applying robust standards, and considering counterparties’ security information in risk management. None of those measures, by itself, guarantees prevention.
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A fraudulent transfer is not necessarily the end of the operation. Swift and BAE Systems’ 2 September 2020 report described cash-out methods including money mules, front companies, and cryptocurrency. It also noted that criminals may exploit insiders or weak due diligence, and may convert proceeds into assets such as property and jewellery. The joint report describes possible methods, not steps used in every case.
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This is why payment security cannot be isolated from the rest of a bank’s risk operations. The report’s central implication is that cybersecurity, fraud, and anti-money-laundering teams need to connect their monitoring and response processes so that signals about an intrusion, a suspicious payment, and movement of funds can be considered together.
What banks can do to reduce the risk
Swift lists its Customer Security Controls Framework (CSCF) v2026 as the current framework; its document centre gives an update date of 11 July 2025. It groups controls around three aims: secure the environment, know and limit access, and detect and respond. Which controls apply depends on the institution’s Swift architecture.
- Secure the environment: restrict internet access where appropriate, separate critical systems from general IT, reduce vulnerabilities, and guard against credential compromise.
- Know and limit access: manage identities and privileges so people and systems have only the access they need.
- Detect and respond: look for anomalous system or transaction activity, prepare incident-response plans, and support information sharing.
These are layered institutional safeguards, not a guarantee that an attack will be stopped. The Bangladesh case illustrates why protecting local systems involved in payment creation and confirmation matters alongside controls on the messaging infrastructure.
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