Cyberattackers Drain Money From French Bank Credit Mutuel Arkea

Crédit Mutuel Arkéa said hackers stole money from it after gaining access to its computer systems, underscoring the growing cybersecurity risks for the banking sector.

The French lender “was the victim of a cyberattack that enabled fraudulent transactions to be carried out,” a spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg News on Wednesday, declining to say how much money was stolen.

The spokesperson said some transactions have been suspended and the bank is in contact with authorities about the attack. The situation is “under control” and there won’t be a financial hit to clients.

It’s the latest example of cyberattacks on banks around the world. The State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender by assets, recently launched a probe after a suspected cyberattack exposed thousands of customer records containing personal information. In Japan, a wave of data breaches has hit companies including Daiwa Securities Group Inc., East Japan Railway Co. and SoftBank Corp., prompting government officials to step up cybersecurity measures.

Hackers also recently pulled of the biggest heist that the digital-asset industry has ever faced, draining more than $6 billion from crypto exchange Binance.

Cyber risks are increasing “exponentially” and represent “the price to be paid for all this innovation,” UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said earlier this week. Good governance, clear accountability and the ability to react quickly in this environment are key, he added.

Crédit Mutuel Arkéa earlier this year filed an application to obtain a MiCA authorization, the European regulation on crypto-assets, to offer crypto services to its customers.

Photograph: Data cables; photo credit: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg