Hackers released documents and files on Friday that cybersecurity experts said indicated the US National Security Agency had accessed the SWIFT interbank messaging system, allowing it to monitor money flows among some Middle Eastern and Latin American banks.
The release included computer code that could be adapted by criminals to break into SWIFT servers and monitor messaging activity, said Shane Shook, a cybersecurity consultant who has helped banks investigate breaches of their SWIFT systems.
The documents and files were released by a group calling themselves The Shadow Brokers. Some of the records bear NSA seals, but Reuters could not confirm their authenticity.
The NSA could not immediately be reached for comment.
Also published were many programs for attacking various versions of the Windows operating system, at least some of which still work, researchers said.
In a statement to Reuters, Microsoft, maker of Windows, said it had not been warned by any part of the US government that such files existed or had been stolen.
“Other than reporters, no individual or organization has contacted us in relation to the materials released by Shadow Brokers,” the company said.
The absence of warning is significant because the NSA knew for months about the Shadow Brokers breach, officials previously told Reuters. Under a White House process established by former President Barack Obama’s staff, companies were usually warned about dangerous flaws.
Shook said criminal hackers could use the information released on Friday to hack into banks and steal money in operations mimicking a heist last year of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank.
“The release of these capabilities could enable fraud like we saw at Bangladesh Bank,” Shook said.
The SWIFT messaging system is used by banks to transfer trillions of dollars each day. Belgium-based SWIFT downplayed the risk of attacks employing the code released by hackers on Friday.
SWIFT said it regularly releases security updates and instructs client banks on how to handle known threats.
“We mandate that all customers apply the security updates within specified times,” SWIFT said in a statement.
SWIFT said it had no evidence that the main SWIFT network had ever been accessed without authorization.
It was possible that the local messaging systems of some SWIFT client banks had been breached, SWIFT said in a statement, which did not specifically mention the NSA.
When cyberthieves robbed the Bangladesh Bank last year, they compromised that bank’s local SWIFT network to order money transfers from its account at the New York Federal Reserve.
The documents released by the Shadow Brokers on Friday indicate that the NSA may have accessed the SWIFT network through service bureaus. SWIFT service bureaus are companies that provide an access point to the SWIFT system for the network’s smaller clients and may send or receive messages regarding money transfers on their behalf.
“If you hack the service bureau, it means that you also have access to all of their clients, all of the banks,” said Matt Suiche, founder of the United Arab Emirates-based cybersecurity firm Comae Technologies, who has studied the Shadow Broker releases and believes the group has access to NSA files.
The documents posted by the Shadow Brokers include Excel files listing computers on a service bureau network, user names, passwords and other data, Suiche said.
“That’s information you can only get if you compromise the system,” he said.
ATTEMPT TO MONITOR FLOW OF MONEY
Cris Thomas, a prominent security researcher with the cybersecurity firm Tenable, said the documents and files released by the Shadow Brokers show “the NSA has been able to compromise SWIFT banking systems, presumably as a way to monitor, if not disrupt, financial transactions to terrorists groups”.
Since the early 1990s, interrupting the flow of money from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere to Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other militant Islamic groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries has been a major objective of US and allied intelligence agencies.
Mustafa Al-Bassam, a computer science researcher at University College London, said on Twitter that the Shadow Brokers documents show that the “NSA hacked a bunch of banks, oil and investment companies in Palestine, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, more.”
He added that NSA “completely hacked” EastNets, one of two SWIFT service bureaus named in the documents that were released by the Shadow Brokers.
Reuters could not independently confirm that EastNets had been hacked.
EastNets, based in Dubai, denied it had been hacked in a statement, calling the assertion “totally false and unfounded.”
EastNets ran a “complete check of its servers and found no hacker compromise or any vulnerabilities,” according to a statement from EastNets’ chief executive and founder, Hazem Mulhim.
In 2013, documents released by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden said the NSA had been able to monitor SWIFT messages.
The agency monitored the system to spot payments intended to finance crimes, according to the documents released by Snowden.
Reuters could not confirm whether the documents released Friday by the Shadow Brokers, if authentic, were related to NSA monitoring of SWIFT transfers since 2013.
Some of the documents released by the Shadow Brokers were dated 2013, but others were not dated.
The documents released by the hackers did not clearly indicate whether the NSA had actually used all the techniques cited for monitoring SWIFT messages.
Hackers release files indicating NSA monitored global bank transfers
Hackers release files indicating NSA monitored global bank transfers
Oman, China discuss strategic relations in political, economic sectors
- China commended Oman’s role ‘in promoting the settlement of regional hotspot issues’
- Two sides discussed their bilateral cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields
LONDON: Oman and China held the 14th round of strategic consultations in Beijing to deepen their political, economic and cultural cooperation this week.
Khalifa Ali Al-Harthy, the undersecretary of the Omani foreign ministry for political affairs, and Liu Bin, the Chinese assistant minister of foreign affairs, led their respective delegations.
The two sides discussed their bilateral cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields on Monday, exploring ways to enhance strategic relations, the Oman News Agency reported.
Special Envoy Zhai Jun, of the Chinese government on the Middle East issue, said that the strategic partnership between Beijing and Muscat had continued to develop steadily, with successful cooperation in various fields.
“China appreciates the important role played by Oman in promoting the settlement of regional hotspot issues and easing regional tensions,” Jun said, according to a statement on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website.
Khalifa met Jun and Zhang Xiaoqiang, executive vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the ONA reported.
Nasser Mohammed Al-Busaidi, the Omani ambassador to China, and Abdulaziz Mohammed Al-Hosni, head of the Asia and Pacific Department at the Foreign Ministry, attended the consultations session.
Jordan’s prime minister warns against threat of ‘political opportunism’ and external loyalties
- Jafar Hassan’s comments follow arrest of 16 people accused of planning acts of chaos and sabotage, and seizures of missiles, explosives and firearms
- ‘Nothing transcends Jordan’s interests’ and there is no tolerance for ‘subversive elements seeking to propagate instability and impede national progress,’ he says
LONDON: Jordan’s Prime Minister Jafar Hassan cautioned on Tuesday against acts of “political opportunism” and any activities that might undermine public safety.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting in Ajloun, he said: “The Jordanian state’s forbearance cannot be subjected to testing, nor can any entity prevail against it through performative displays or populist demagoguery, or jeopardize public welfare for any cause whatsoever,” the Jordan News Agency reported.
“Nothing transcends Jordan’s interests” and there is “no space for external loyalties or subversive elements seeking to propagate instability and impede national progress,” he added.
“Within Jordan’s borders, sovereignty is exclusively vested in constitutional legitimacy, with authority concentrated solely in state institutions and our independent judiciary.”
The prime minister’s comments came a week after Jordanian authorities said they foiled a series of plots that threatened the country’s national security. They arrested 16 people accused of planning acts of chaos and sabotage, and seized weapons including missiles, explosives and firearms.
Hassan said national unity is essential to the country’s strength and any attempt to compromise it “constitutes direct opposition to Jordan’s national interests and its citizenry.”
Syria arrests Assad-era officer accused of ‘war crimes’: ministry
- The statement accused Tinawi of involvement in “committing war crimes against civilians, including a massacre” in the Damascus countryside in 2016
DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities said Tuesday they had arrested a former officer in the feared security apparatus of ousted ruler Bashar Assad, the latest such announcement as the new government pursues ex-officials accused of atrocities.
The interior ministry announced in a statement that security forces in the coastal province of Latakia had arrested the “criminal brigadier-general Sultan Al-Tinawi,” saying he was a key officer in the air force intelligence, one of the Assad family’s most trusted security agencies.
The statement accused Tinawi of involvement in “committing war crimes against civilians, including a massacre” in the Damascus countryside in 2016.
It said he was responsible for “coordinating between the leadership of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and a number of sectarian groups in Syria.”
Tinawi has been referred to the public prosecution for further investigation, the statement said.
A security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said that Tinawi held senior administrative positions in the air force intelligence when Jamil Hassan was head of the notorious agency.
Hassan has been sentenced in absentia in France for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes, while the United States has accused him of “war crimes,” including overseeing barrel bomb attacks on Syrian people that killed thousands of civilians.
Tinawi had been “head of the information branch of the air force intelligence” before Assad’s ouster late last year, the security source told AFP, describing the branch as “one of the most powerful and secret security agencies in the country.”
Since taking power in December, Syria’s new authorities have announced a number of arrests of Assad-era security officials.
Assad fled to Moscow with only a handful of confidants, abandoning senior officials and security officers, some of whom have reportedly fled to neighboring countries or taken refuge in the coastal heartland of Assad’s Alawite minority community.
Jerusalem patriarch hails pope’s commitment to Gaza
- Patriarch thanked numerous Palestinian and Israeli public figures who offered condolences, did not comment on lack of any official message from Netanyahu
JERUSALEM: The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Tuesday hailed Pope Francis’s support for Gazans and engagement with the small Catholic community in the war-battered Palestinian territory.
The Catholic church’s highest authority in the region, who is considered a potential successor to the late pontiff, Pizzaballa told journalists in Jerusalem that “Gaza represents, a little bit, all what was the heart of his pontificate.”
Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, advocated peace and “closeness to the poor... and to the neglected one,” said the patriarch.
These positions became particularly evident in Francis’s response to the Israel-Hamas war which broke out in October 2023, Pizzaballa said.
“He was very close to the community of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, he kept calling them many times — for a certain period, also every day, every evening at 7 pm,” said the patriarch.
He added that by doing so, the pope “became for the community something stable, and also comforting for them, and he knew this.”
Out of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox, but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.
Since the early days of the war, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City, and some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge there.
Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war. The day before his death, in a final Easter message delivered on Sunday, he condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in the besieged territory.
“Work for justice... but without becoming part of the conflict,” said Pizzaballa of the late pontiff’s actions.
“For us, for the Church, it leaves an important legacy.”
The patriarch thanked the numerous Palestinian and Israeli public figures who have offered their condolences, preferring not to comment on the lack of any official message from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Even as “the local authorities... were not always happy” with the pope’s positions or statements, they were “always very respectful,” he said.
Pizzaballa said he will travel to Rome on Wednesday, after leading a requiem mass for the pope at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in the morning.
As one of the 135 cardinal electors, the Latin patriarch will participate in the conclave to elect a new pope.
Pizzaballa, a 60-year-old Italian Franciscan who also speaks English and Hebrew, arrived in Jerusalem in 1990 and was made a cardinal in September 2023, just before the Gaza war began.
His visits to Gaza and appeals for peace since then have attracted international attention.
UAE FM meets Sri Lankan president in Colombo visit
- Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan highlighted the UAE’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Sri Lanka
- He attended the signing of a deal to establish the UAE-Sri Lanka Joint Business Council
LONDON: Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE minister of foreign affairs, met Sri Lanka’s president and foreign minister in Colombo during an official visit on Tuesday.
Sheikh Abdullah and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in various sectors, building on strong and evolving ties between the UAE and Sri Lanka.
He highlighted the UAE’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Sri Lanka to support the development goals of both countries, the Emirates News Agency reported.
The UAE is committed to partnering with friendly countries to enhance prosperity and sustainable development, he added. President Dissanayake commended the strong relationship between Abu Dhabi and Colombo, WAM reported.
Sheikh Abdullah spoke with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Vijitha Herath, about opportunities for enhancing cooperation in areas such as the economy, trade, tourism and development.
The ministers exchanged views on several regional and international issues, and attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka.
The memorandum, signed on Tuesday by Saeed Mubarak Al-Hajeri, the Emirati assistant minister for economic and trade affairs, and Lakmal Fernando, vice president of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, aims to establish the UAE-Sri Lanka Joint Business Council.
Khaled Nasser Al-Ameri, the UAE’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, attended the meetings along with senior Emirati officials.
