Brazilian Police Nab Suspect In $100-M Banking Hack

Police in Brazil have arrested a suspect linked to a cyberattack that diverted more than 540 million Brazilian reais (about $100 million) from the country's banking system, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Hackers attacked C&M, a software company that connects financial institutions to the Central Bank for PIX transactions. I Photo: modalmais 

The breach targeted Brazil’s widely used instant payment system, PIX, which is utilized by 76.4% of the population.

Hackers attacked C&M, a software company that connects financial institutions to the Central Bank for PIX transactions. Police in São Paulo said the $100 million figure reflects losses from just one financial institution using C&M, and the total losses could be even higher.

Authorities identified the suspect as João Roque, a C&M employee in the IT department. He allegedly sold his login credentials to hackers who recruited him earlier this year.

After gaining access to C&M’s system, the hackers executed a massive wave of fake PIX transactions. The fraud occurred over a single night and impacted only the financial institutions connected to C&M, not individual customers.