Hackers blackmail customers of Liechtenstein bank

After hacking Chinese-owned Valartis Bank Liechtenstein, unknown attackers stole the client database and are now allegedly blackmailing the bank”s clients through emails, Reuters writes.

Valartis Bank is the sixth-largest entity in Liechtenstein and manages funds worth approximately 4 billion Swiss Francs. 83.23 percent of the bank is owned by Hong Kong-based luxury goods group Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd.

Unless ransom in bitcoin worth up to 10 percent of the account balance is paid by Dec. 7, hackers threaten to leak account data to media and authorities. Politicians, actors and affluent people from Germany and elsewhere are among its clients. The hackers have accused Valartis Bank of involvement in money laundering and tax evasion, with or without its knowledge, announced Blick.

Since October 2016, hackers have made off with several gigabytes of correspondence and account information, according to letters published by Bild am Sonntag. In their emails, they claim to have over 30 years of IT security experience, which has enabled them to figure out the logins for e-banking and collect information about all transactions and account balance.

Although the bank did not initially comment, it acknowledged the hack once clients started receiving ransom emails. They have reached out to authorities and an investigation is ongoing.