February 15, 2016
Hackers caused the Russian Ruble to swing 15 per cent in minutes by hacking a bank with a newly-discovered and highly capable malware.
The “Metel” or “Corkow” malware was used to break into the Kazan-based Energobank and place on its behalf some US$500 million (£344 million, A$702 million) in orders, sufficient to swing currency markets and trigger an investigation by the Russian Central Bank.
The attack caused a 14 minute swing between 55 and 66 rubles per dollar that was markedly different from the normal rate, the Russian Central Bank said in a statement (Russian).
It caused the bank to reportedly lose 244 million rubles (US$3.2 million, £2.2 million, A$4.5 million)