Offshore bank, CNB has confirmed a data breach by hacktivist group Phineas Fisher.
The notorious hacker group targeted the offshore bank and stole confidential documents and money.
In addition to the hack it is offering other hackers USD 100, 000 to encourage them to carry out politically motivated hacks.
The Cayman National Bank, based in the British Isles, said in a statement, “It is known that Cayman National Bank (Isle of Man) Limited was amongst a number of banks targeted and subject to the same hacking activity.”
The statement continued, “A criminal investigation is ongoing and Cayman National is co-operating with the relevant law enforcement authorities to identify the perpetrators of the data theft. Cayman National takes any breach of data security very seriously and a specialist IT forensic investigation is underway, with appropriate actions being taken to ensure that the clients of Cayman National’s Isle of Man bank and trust companies are protected.”
While the bank did not explicitly name Phineas Fisher, it admitted to falling victim to a quote, “criminal hacking group.”
A recent Phineas Fisher manifesto read, “I robbed a bank and gave the money away, Computer hacking is a powerful tool to fight economic inequality.”
Phineas Fisher added that they breached the bank in 2016.
Despite the hacker’s statement, CNB claimed it did not lose either its customers’ or its own funds.
The hactivist group published the stolen emails and documents on Distributed Denial of Secrets, a leaking website run by activist Emma Best.
In a previous statement to Motherboard Media, Phineas Fisher said, “The global financial elite are oppressors, not victims. Hacking that elite and returning the tiniest fraction of the wealth that they’ve stolen doesn’t make them victims, It is cybercrime. It’s also activism. It’s motivated by a desire for social change, I’m not personally profiting or benefiting from it.”
Phineas Fisher most notoriously breached Italian surveillance vendor Hacking Team, and released numerous internal company documents and files online.
