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Brazilian police have arrested suspects in connection with a cyber attack that diverted more than 540 million Brazilian Reais (about $100 million) from the country’s banking system, authorities said Friday.
This violation affected the widely used instant payment system in Brazil, known as PIX, used in 76.4% of the population. Hackers targeted C&M, a software company that connects financial institutions to central banks to enable PIX transactions.
Police in Sao Paulo say the $100 million loss is only one financial institution that worked with C&M, and the total loss could be even higher.
Officials identified the suspect as João Roque, an employee of C&M who is involved in information technology and allegedly helped others gain unauthorized access to the PIX system.
Police said Loke told investigators he sold his qualification to a hacker who recruited him earlier this year. The Associated Press was unable to reach his lawyer immediately.
After violating the company’s systems, the hackers performed a massive fake PIX operation. The fraud took place overnight and did not affect clients. This is only for financial institutions that have contracted with C&M.
Police are currently trying to identify other members of the group, saying at least four people are taking part in the cyber attack. They are also trying to track and freeze suspicious assets. So far, authorities have blocked 270 million Reais linked to the scheme.
Brazil’s central bank said Thursday that it has halted some of C&M’s operations after the company took steps to reduce the risk of further attacks.
In a statement released by local media, C&M was working with the authorities and said that the preliminary evidence shows violations not from system defects but from unauthorized access to security qualifications through social engineering.
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