A hacker has somehow been able to grab hold of the data of some 3.7 million bank customers in Israel. He has now asked three major Israeli banks to either pay up a certain amount in Bitcoin or that he would sell the data to others.
The hacker in question reportedly runs the largest botnet malware network in the country. He claims that his trojan network has been able to infect the machines of millions around Israel and that it is through such malicious activity that he was able to put his hands on the dump of data containing personal information, bank accounts, passwords and credit cards of 3.7 million residents of the country.
Commenting on the threats made by the hacker, Haaretz wrote, “Bank received an e-mail message threatening that unless they handed over a certain sum in Bitcoins by the end of next week, a list of customers’ details would be given to hostile elements.”
There are a number of ways in which anyone with malicious intent can easily misuse this information. However, for now, the chief contention is whether or not the hacker actually possesses this information. There is a real possibility that he is merely bluffing, in which case the authenticity of his claim can be checked by asking him to reveal a portion of the data he has.
As a response to the threat, the Israeli banks have alerted the police and are already in the process of discussing how to resolve the issue. The fact that the hacker has demanded a payment in Bitcoin is also very meaningful, bringing the digital currency yet again to limelight.
Courtesy: The Hacker News
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