Hacker attack cost Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation £229m

Hackers accused of £229m Sumitomo fraud plot. It happened the following way. A gang of thieves broke into the London offices of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and installed keylogging software on computers. The story started in 2004 when the corporation suffered from a security supervisor. It is known that he helped two computer hackers enter the bank's offices and install the spyware to record employee usernames and passwords. The second step in that financial fraud action was using the sensitive information the hackers collected. 

They returned days later to collect the passwords before attempting to make over 20 electronic transfers from the accounts of Sumitomo customers such as Nomura Asset Management and Toshiba. The amount of £229m belonged to different international companies and corporation. The money was intended for accounts around the world, including Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, which were controlled by accomplices. Even though the attack wasn't successful as the transfers failed because of an error in the order forms it has affected the reputation of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The plot was uncovered after staff noticed that their computers had been tampered with. The security guard, Kevin O'Donoghue, and hackers, Jan Van Osselaer and Gilles Poelvoorde, both from Belgium, have admitted their roles in the conspiracy. However, three other men are on trial accused of acting as fronts, setting up companies and bank accounts designed to receive the stolen money. Hugh Rodley, David Nash and Inger Malmros deny conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Another defendant died shortly before the trial.