The French banking group Cr é dit Mutuel Ark disclosed on November 4th that hackers used their own accounts to carry out fraudulent transfers during a cyberattack, with the amount involved reported to be 118 million euros (133 million US dollars). Some of this funds may have been converted into cryptocurrencies.
The lending institution stated that the attackers first gained access to the system through a platform provided by a third-party service provider, and subsequently obtained access to the bank's systems. After that, they transferred the funds to other financial institutions, where the money may have been converted into cryptocurrencies.
At the same time, the bank acknowledged that the amount of loss claimed by the outside world is roughly within the correct range, but refused to confirm the specific figure. Some of the funds have been intercepted, and the work to recover the remaining funds is still ongoing.
Cr is dit. Mutuel Ark indicates that the attacker launched the intrusion through a third-party platform.
Unauthorized transfers originated from the accounts of Cr é dit and Mutuel Ark, which are the accounts of those individuals themselves, rather than from the accounts held by customers.
The company denied the claim that the attackers entered the system through its online banking subsidiary Fortuneo. Instead, the hackers accessed the system via a platform provided by an unnamed service provider and used this to directly gain access to the banking group.
Although the bank has identified the entry point for the intrusion, it has not disclosed the identity of the service provider, nor has it explained which specific security vulnerabilities allowed the attackers to gain access.
The lending institution denied that the incident was caused by an employee's mistake, describing it as a "complex attack" from outside, and subsequently their security team managed to bring it under control.
After detecting suspicious activities, employees initiated emergency measures to prevent further unauthorized transfers. The banking group temporarily suspended some bank transactions in order to check the systems and strengthen security controls.
In the initial announcement, the bank stated that services had been gradually restored on November 4th. Subsequent updates indicated that, after further checks, nearly all services had been restored by that morning.
Customers have encountered delays in some transfers, but the bank insists that customer assets have not been affected.
French bank has not confirmed the claimed loss of $133 million
Reports of around 118 million euros in theft have drawn external attention to the financial consequences of this attack.
When asked to confirm this figure, the group responded, "We cannot confirm this information; we can only confirm its order of magnitude."
This statement still leaves the final amount of loss uncertain, as investigators are still verifying exactly how much money was transferred and how much of it can be recovered.
The bank stated that some of the affected funds have been intercepted, but it did not specify which financial institutions were involved, nor did it disclose the amount that has been secured.
The remaining recovery measures are still in progress, and the bank is working hard to clarify the full financial consequences.
The bank stated that this incident will not weaken its financial position. Its publicly available company data shows total assets of 211.5 billion euros, although the final financial loss has not yet been determined.
The company has notified the relevant regulatory and law enforcement agencies after discovering the attack.
AFP Another report indicates that the Paris Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into an attack suspected to have been carried out by an organized gang against an automated data processing system.
The stolen funds may have been converted into cryptocurrencies.
The latest statement from the bank raises a possibility that, after transferring the funds to other financial institutions, the attackers may then convert the stolen money into cryptocurrencies.
However, the lending institution has not confirmed that a cryptocurrency purchase actually took place, nor has it specified which trading platforms, digital assets, or wallet addresses were involved.
Prior to this disclosure, crypto.news reported on an investigation by the online investigator ZachXBT into a suspected theft case, stating that a Western European financial institution, whose name was not disclosed, suffered a loss of over $133 million in funds.
On November 3rd, this blockchain investigator described withdrawals that were suspected to have been conducted through centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, followed by transfers involving USDC, USDT, and Ethereum.
His investigation uncovered transactions conducted through instant exchange services, and it is alleged that some of the funds were converted into the privacy-oriented cryptocurrency Monero.
The investigator stated that more than $30 million has been laundered and questioned why the affected institutions did not disclose this incident.
These allegations predate the public statement of Ark, and the bank has not independently confirmed that all transactions identified by ZachXBT are related to its system.
The group has not yet disclosed whether the investigators have found the final whereabouts of the missing funds.
Cr is dit Mutuel Ark reminds customers to be wary of phishing attacks
Although banks insist that customer accounts have not been affected, they still warn that criminals may use this incident to launch phishing attacks.
Banks explain that such attacks can sometimes lead to the forgery of information, which is used to deceive customers into providing their confidential financial details.
Banks urge customers not to disclose their bank passwords, account identifiers, bank card numbers, or SMS verification codes to anyone who requests them.
Customers who receive suspicious messages are advised to contact their bank advisors directly, rather than responding to the sender.
This warning does not indicate that customer information has been leaked, and the bank has not reported any confirmed theft of customer data either.
Cr is dit. Mutuel Ark serves over 5.8 million members and customers through its regional bank consortium and approximately 40 specialized subsidiaries, including Fortuneo.
Its security team is collaborating with judicial and law enforcement agencies to determine the source and method of the attack.
