Threat Management

U.S. expected to charge North Korea for role in Bangladesh Bank digital heist

U.S. prosecutors are reportedly building a case against North Korea to examine the nation's possible role in the 2016 Bangladesh Bank digital heist which resulted in the theft of $81 million.

In the February 2016 incident, hackers breached Bangladesh Bank's system and used the SWIFT messaging network to request nearly $1 billion from its account at the New York Fed. While the majority of requests where declined after a typo triggered suspicion, $81 million dollars' worth of the malicious requests were approved.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation believes that North Korea is responsible for the breach and prosecutors are also expected to charge alleged Chinese middlemen and who potentially played a role in the attack as well, according a Reuters report citing the Wall Street Journal.

While the cases being pursued may not include charges against North Korean officials, it may implicate the country resulting in the United States accusing a foreign government of orchestrating the heist, the publications said.

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