Police had arrested five Chinese nationals

Police had arrested five Chinese nationals

A group of Chinese hackers came to Kathmandu, targeting the Nepali Bank’s ATM booth in August 30. The group of hackers who came to Nepal after making plan in China attacked the Nepali bank’s ATM booths . But due to the alertness of the bank staff and police activation, their plans after stealing returning to their home country within 24 hours were not successful.Police had arrested five Chinese nationals Chen Bin Bin-35, Luo Jialei-40, Qui Yunging-30, Zhu Lianggang-32-30, and Lin Jianmeng-39. They are taken into police custody.

On 20 October 2017, virtual thieves hacked Swift of NIC Asia Bank. During the holiday season, hackers tried to steal around Rs 410 million and transfer it to accounts in different countries. NIC Asia has brought back that Rs. 360 million from various countries. Spokesperson of Rastra Bank Laxmi Prapana Niraula said that the Rs. 50 million reached to Japan is in the process of being returned.

The above two major representative incidents of banking crime show how foreign hackers are keeping an eye on Nepali treasure. Through the hole in the cyber security system of Nepali banks, foreign hackers are attacking banking systems like Swift or ATM booths.

What is even more surprising is that many foreign tourists are stealing Nepalese money through ATM hacking by entering Nepal in disguise. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) of the Nepal Police investigating a serious crime has arrested 18 foreign nationals who illegally withdraw money from an ATM. “During the last 6 years, we arrested 18 foreigners who had been illegally stealing money from ATMs in 11 operations,” Spokesperson of the Bureau Deepak Regmi told , adding that they appear to have come to Nepal with the aim of stealing money from ATMs.The bureau records show that they had lost more than Rs 2.7 million.

Police have arrested Romanian, Turkish, Bulgarian, Maldivians, Indians, etc., who illegally hacked ATMs and stole money. Police groups have found that these groups are hacking data and stealing money. Virtual thieves hire someone who steals money by reaching the target they choose, using the PIN code provided. According to a police officer active in the investigation, after stealing money, they divide it on a certain percentage basis.

This is confirmed by the fact that the Chinese who came to Nepal to steal money from ATMs received the zip code through chat. Police suspect that about two dozen Chinese hackers may have come to Kathmandu to steal money from ATMs, but only six have been arrested. They hacked bank identification number (BIN) and ATM usage system. Spokesperson of the metropolitan police premises Kathmandu, Hovindra Bogati, said they had steamed Rs18.9 million. They hacked the system between Nepal Electronics Payment System (NEPS) and Visa card belonging to different banks.

On the other hand, the eyes of a virtual thief are about to hack the system and send money to their accounts through the weak holes in the bank’s cyber system. In October 2017, similar virtual thieves opened their eyes at NIC Asia Bank. They tried to send the money to their account could not be successful. According to the CIB, North Korean hacker group ‘Lazarus’ had hacked NIC’s Swift.

In the Global Cyber ​​Security Index published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 2018, Nepal ranks 109th in the world and 20th on the regional level. But Nepal was ranked 14th in the report in the 2017. Experts also attribute the vulnerable cyber security system to the cyber system hack of Nepal Bank.

Dr.Pramod Parajuli  from UTI University Sydney, who holds a scholarship in Risk Management. Pramod Parajuli says the IT infrastructure in Nepal is weak. ‘Nepal’s cyber security is very weak in the indicators put out by ITUs,’ said Dr. Parajuli says, ‘This means that everyone knows that security is low when we have basic infrastructure vulnerable. Such countries are the first target for the hackers as infrastructure is weak in developing countries. ”Although banking security is strong compared to other institutions in Nepal, developments still have to be upgraded, he said.

It’s not just foreigners who hack ATMs. Indigenous peoples steal ATM passwords and steal money from ATMs. Some have found that hackers of ATM systems by buying pin codes through Bitcoin from foreign hacks. Spokesman of the metropolitan police premises Kathmandu, Hovindra Bogati, said that the Nepalese, who illegally withdraw money from the ATM, stole ATM’s PIN card rather than hacking. Read more