French Regional Bank Says Cyberattack Caused 'Fraudulent Transactions'
Investigators say the bank’s own accounts were used, and the institution says customer assets were not affected as it works to recover the funds.
- On Wednesday, French regional bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa confirmed a cyberattack enabled fraudulent transactions totaling $133 million, according to independent investigator ZachXBT. The bank acknowledged the figure as the correct "order of magnitude" while insisting customer assets remain safe.
- Attackers bypassed internal defenses by compromising an unnamed third-party service provider's platform, Arkéa stated, explicitly denying the breach originated through Fortuneo, its online banking subsidiary. The bank described the intrusion as a "sophisticated attack" from outside, not human error.
- Stolen funds were systematically drained from the bank's accounts using stablecoins USDC and USDT before being converted into Ethereum and then Monero, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that obscures transaction trails. Blockchain analytics tracked $108.8 million in USDC withdrawn in just 21 hours.
- Following detection of suspicious activity, Arkéa temporarily suspended certain transactions to secure operations and prevent further illicit transfers. Management notified judicial and police authorities immediately, with operations resuming shortly after final security checks were completed.
- European infrastructure faces a surge in cyberattacks, including recent hacks targeting supermarket refrigeration systems, adding context to this financial sector breach. The incident serves as an early test for the European Union's Digital Operational Resilience Act , which entered full application January 17, 2025.
235 Articles
235 Articles
A French regional bank claims to have been the victim of a cyberattack, which is estimated at more than EUR 100 million.
Hackers withdrew about 100 million euros from the accounts of one of the French banks <p>Credit Mutuel Arkea said it lost about 100 million euros due to fraudulent transfers. Customer accounts not affected, ongoing </p>investigation.
Hackers stole around 100 million euros from French bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa in a cyberattack on Wednesday. While successful attacks on such large financial institutions are rare, the bank confirmed that customer accounts and savings were not affected. This topic will also be discussed at the Portfolio Banking Technology conference on November 10. Registration and details here!
French regional bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has been the target of a cyberattack, it said in a press release on Wednesday. According to media reports, fraudulent transactions worth more than 100 million euros (2.43 billion CZK) were made. The Paris prosecutor's office told AFP that it had opened an investigation into the matter.
Crédit Mutuel Arkéa Says Attackers Drained Its Own Account and May Have Cashed Out in Crypto
Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, the French banking group that onchain investigator ZachXBT named as the victim of a suspected nine-figure theft, confirmed on Nov. 4 that it was hit by an attack that let fraudulent operations go through. In a second statement the same day, the bank said the attackers may have turned the money into crypto. According to that follow-up, which Arkéa published in French as answers to press questions, the attackers used the bank’…
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