Swift network bank thefts 'linked' to Sony Pictures hack

Unique code signatures shared between malware used in multiple bank attacks suggest involvement of hacking group named 'Lazarus', Symantec says

Security researchers Symantec have found clues in the malware used to hack into international financial messaging network Swift, which suggest a link to the Sony Pictures hack in 2014.

At least three banks have reported financial attacks based on the Swift hack. In February, Bangladesh's central bank lost $81m (55m) after fraudulent messages were sent through the network instructing a transfer to an account in the Philippines. In May, a Vietnamese bank came forward to say that it had been targeted by the hackers as well, and had managed to stop a $1m transfer. And later that month, Reuters revealed that a third bank, Ecuador's Banco del Austro, had also fallen prey.