The acknowledgment, buried at the bottom of a central bank report on digital thefts in the Russian banking division, is the latest in a string of tried and successful cyber heists using fraudulent wire-transfer requests.
The central bank said it had been sent data about “one successful attack on the workplace of a SWIFT system operative.”
“The volume of unsanctioned procedures as a result of this attack amounted to 339.5 million roubles,” the bank said.
After the report’s statement, a central bank spokesman said hackers had taken control of a machine at a Russian bank and used the SWIFT system to transfer the business to their own accounts.
The spokesman faded to name the bank or provide further details. He quoted Artem Sychev, deputy head of the central bank’s security department, as stating this was “a common scheme”.
A spokeswoman for SWIFT, whose messaging system is used to give trillions of dollars each day, said the organization does not comment on specific entities.
“When a case of possible fraud is reported to us, we offer our support to the affected user to help secure its situation,” said the spokeswoman, Natasha de Teran.
SWIFT says its own systems have never been settled by hackers.
Brussels-based SWIFT said late last year digital heists were growing increasingly prominent as hackers use more advanced tools and techniques to launch new attacks.
In December, hackers tried to steal 55 million roubles from Russian state bank Globex utilizing the SWIFT system, and digital thieves made off with $81 million from Bangladesh Bank in February 2016.
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