May 20, 2016
In the wake of an orchestrated cyberattack found to be targeting numerous banks across the globe, the Bank of England issued an urgent call of all UK institutions to check for “indicators of compromise” on any computer connected to the Swift messaging service, it has emerged.
Officials close to the UK central bank, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the warning was issued in mid-to-late April – however is only now being made public. The order marks the earliest known case of a central bank in a major economy ordering a formal security check-up of its member banks in response the cyber-heist at the Bangladesh bank in February. In this case, which is still being investigated, hackers were able to compromise $81 (£56m) in a complex scheme.