Hackers Breached Virginia Bank Twice in Eight Months, Stole $2.4M - Operations Security

This article discusses the breach of electronic communication procedures of a bank by hackers who were able to access important information like access to pins and disable frauds score protection of the bank. The bank had the opportunity to implement the protection protocols that could keep their money safe. The employee of the bank was compromised by the hacker’s efforts and his email was used to as a starting point to robbing the bank. Russia has continually been involved in cyber-crimes against the US. The same attacker robbed the bank twice probably using the same technique and tools. The bank was complacent and it failed to set up protection and relevant policies that could prevent a repeat of the cyber-crime.

Running head: OPERATION SECURITY
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Title of the article: Hackers Breached Virginia Bank Twice in Eight Months, Stole $2.4M
Topic: Operation Security
Publisher: Word press
Date of publication: 24th July 2018
Link to Article: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/07/hackers-breached-virginia-bank-twice-in-
eight-months-stole-2-4m/
Main idea of the Article:
The electronic communication procedures of the bank were breached by the hackers who
were able to access important information like access to pins and disable frauds score protection
of the bank
Information Presented:
1. The bank had the opportunity to implement the protection protocols that could keep their
money safe.
2. The employee of the bank was compromised by the hacker’s efforts and his email was used to
as a starting point to robbing the bank.
3. Russia has continually been involved in cyber-crimes against the US.
4. The same attacker robbed the bank twice probably using the same technique and tools.
5. The bank was complacent and it failed to set up protection and relevant policies that could
prevent a repeat of the cyber-crime.

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Response to the journal:
Banks are considered safe places where private citizens and corporations keep their hard
earned cash. It is expected that they will be discrete and implement the necessary policies to
prevent cyber-attacks (Krebs, 2018). However, the national bank fell prey to the actions of
hackers twice in a row. Such repetition can only be seen as negligence on the side of the bank
where it failed to implement the operations security policy, or the policy was implemented and
failed. After months of investigations by experts, it is discovered that the bank was robbed by the
same individuals who had robbed them in 2016. Two conclusions can be drawn from the article,
and one is that the recommendation by the First Data experts of additional security protocols was
weak or vulnerable to compromise. Or on the other hand, it could have been a case of negligence
on the part of the bank where its employee was not thorough in their work leading to the email
phishing by the hackers. The banks regulation was good, it was recommended by the experts,
and it was supposed to work. However, email phishing targets individuals and when they are
vulnerable and end up sharing critical information then regardless of the policy that is in place,
hackers can find their way into the bank and get away with cash (Grant-Adamnson, 2017). There
is little that can be done, but banks can train their workers in tricks scammers use to get sensitive
information from people (Johnson, 2016).
Conclusion
The difference between the first and the second robbery was eight months which was a
very short period. Suppose the bank wanted to avoid a repeat of the same crime it could have
tightened the policies that relate to employees disclosure of information. The thieves also
discovered a mistake in the security of the bank which they were able to utilize. In my opinion, if

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the security policy is not fully addressed, the bank will still lose millions of dollars to the Russian
or other sophisticated hackers (Laudon, Traver & Pearson, 2018). The staff working at banks
should be careful not to disclose their personal details to strangers.

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References
AP rant Adamn on A er rime Ma on re tBIBLIOGR HY G - s , . (2017). C yb C . s C s .
Johnson, M. (2016). Cyber Crime, Security and Digital Intelligence. London: Routledge.
Krebs, B. (2018). Krebs on Security. Retrieved from
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/07/hackers-breached-virginia-bank-twice-in-eight-
months-stole-2-4m/
Laudon, K. C., Traver, C. G., & Pearson. (2018). E-commerce: Business, technology, society.
Boston: Boston [etc.] : Pearson, 2018.