A North Korean hacking group has tried to steal at least $1.1 billion in a series of attacks on global banks over the past four years, according to cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc.
The hackers, which FireEye identified as APT38, have infiltrated more than 16 organizations in 11 countries, including the U.S., and stolen more than $100 million. The group has hacked heavily defended servers at banks and spent time scouring their networks. Security officials should be alarmed, FireEye said last week in a report.
"They understand banking networks pretty well," Charles Carmakal, vice president of consulting at FireEye, said in an interview. "And they probably have geopolitical considerations behind the timing, location of their attacks."