Two London banks have been attacked by similar means. A KVM switch had been installed into their computer network that allowed remote control of computers via a 3G router.  A Santander Bank branch in Southeast London and a Barclays branch in North London were both hit by these attempts. 

Barclays Bank computer theft: Eight held over £1.3m haul

Eight men have been arrested in connection with a £1.3m theft by a gang who took control of a Barclays Bank computer. The money was transferred from the branch in Swiss Cottage in north London in April, a Met Police spokesman said. Searches are being carried out at addresses across London where property including cash, jewellery, drugs and credit cards has been seized. The raid is being linked to an attempt to steal from Santander last week.

Four men have appeared in court charged with attempting to take control of computers at a Santander branch in Surrey Quays, south-east London. Det Supt Terry Wilson said the Barclays investigation was being carried out by the same police team. However he said the latest arrests “are a different level, it’s really the top tier of this criminal network that have been arrested”. He added: “This was a highly-organised criminal network with each individual filling a specific role. “All criminal networks have a head and we very much believe we have now apprehended our ‘Mr Big’ as part of this operation.” The men, aged between 24 and 47, were arrested on Thursday and Friday.

Following the report of the theft, police found a “keyboard video mouse” (KVM) switch attached to one of the branch’s computers.

A generic KVM switch
A KVM switch similar to this one was found attached to the Barclays Bank computers.  It had had been placed there by a man purporting to be an IT engineer the day before the theft on 5 April. The KVM switch, which has a 3G router attached, allows a user to control multiple computers. This enabled the gang to remotely transfer funds to other back accounts.
 
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Santander Bank Hacking Plot: Four In Court
 

Four men have appeared in court over an attempt to take control of computers at a Santander bank branch to steal millions of pounds. It is alleged one of the gang posed as an engineer to fit a computer at the branch in Surrey Quays shopping centre, southeast London, with a “keyboard video mouse” (KVM). 

The device, which can be purchased online for as little as £10, allegedly allowed them to transmit the contents of the computer’s desktop and take control of all computers at the branch. But the attempt failed and the Spanish bank said “no money was ever at risk”.

Lanre Mullins-Abudu, 25, from Putney, southwest London; Dean Outram, 34, from northwest London; Akash Vaghela, 27, from Hounslow, west London; and Asad Ali Qureshi, 35, from southwest London, are charged with conspiracy to steal. They spoke only to confirm their names and details when they appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

They are accused of committing a “very significant and audacious cyber-enabled offence” that would have cost Santander millions of pounds. Vaghela was granted conditional bail and the others remanded in custody until the next hearing at Southwark Crown Court on September 27. Eight other people who were arrested were bailed until mid-November pending further inquiries.

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