Bangladeshi police accuse SWIFT technicians of leaving central bank vulnerable to hack

Technicians from the SWIFT global financial network connecting it to Bangladesh's central bank made it easier for hackers to attack the bank, Bangladeshi police and a bank official have told Reuters. The technicians worked on Bangladesh's Real-time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, used to transfer money among Bangladeshi banks, three months before hackers attempted to steal US 951 million from the central bank. The work opened up "a lot of loopholes" in bank computer systems, said the head of the criminal investigation department leading the investigation. Bangladeshi police want to interview the SWIFT technicians to find out whether their actions were intentional or negligent, Mohammad Shah Alam told Reuters. Police and bank officials told the news agency that a number of actions last October left the bank more vulnerable after the RTGS system was set up and connected to the SWIFT network, which provides messaging services to around 11,000 financial institutions worldwide. SWIFT staff declined to speak to Reuters about the allegations, and did not immediately respond to requests from IDG News Service for comment.