Gujarat Bank Cyber Heist: Malware Exploited Core System to Steal Rs 7 Crore
The Bhavnagar District Co-operative Bank headquarters in Gujarat was closed over the fourth weekend of February, as usual. However, a sophisticated cyber fraud was taking place in the digital space, resulting in a loss of over Rs 7 crore.
Fraudsters exploited weaknesses in the bank's core banking system over six months, creating a fake balance of Rs 7.34 crore. On that weekend, they transferred the amount to 127 different accounts. The heist was discovered when the bank reopened on Monday.
Police have arrested six people, including a woman, from Ahmedabad, Surat, and Mumbai. Investigations revealed the plan was executed using malware planted through an infected email attachment six months earlier.
The malware penetrated the core banking system. The accused selected four accounts with low balances from four branches and changed the linked phone numbers to numbers registered in northeastern states like Mizoram, which they controlled. They then inserted ghost entries to inflate the balances and transferred the funds to mule accounts in real transactions.
Jitendrakumar K Kevadiya, general manager of the bank, stated that the hackers exploited cybersecurity deficiencies. The bank's core banking system was shut down for eight days for an internal inquiry. The mobile application and online access remained closed longer to address vulnerabilities. The bank conducted an audit, changed all servers, and resumed operations on the advice of the Reserve Bank of India, CERT-In, and the Gujarat Police Cyber Centre of Excellence.
An FIR was registered on March 11 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. The case was transferred to the Cyber Centre of Excellence. Of the stolen Rs 7.34 crore, police have frozen accounts and recovered Rs 2.04 crore.
The arrested individuals include Sushilkumar Vinodkumar Meghwal (32), Rubina (31), Adnan Usman Shaikh (24), Kishor Prabhakar Pardeshi (43), Mohammad Khaliq Gulam Hussain (40), and Shoaib Gulamnabi Rana (38). All are in judicial custody. Police are investigating their backgrounds and how they collaborated.
