Bulgaria reveals two financial cyber attacks worth 5.2 mln USD

SOFIA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian authorities have revealed two financially motivated cyber attacks worth 5.2. million U.S. dollars targeting companies overseas, officials said here Friday.

In one attack, three million euros (3.7 million dollars) from a "large company" in South Korea were transferred to a bank account in Bulgaria, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The bank account belonged to a legal entity registered in Bulgaria, owned and managed by a foreign national, the statement said.

Bulgarian authorities managed to later return the money to the South Korean company, the statement added.

Earlier this year, the country's General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) revealed a cyber attack against a U.S.-registered legal entity, which was deceived into transferring 1.5 million dollars to three bank accounts in Bulgaria instead of to the account of its real counterpart, the statement said.

After the crime was discovered, the U.S. company received 600,000 dollars back.

The two cyber attacks were revealed as a result of the GDCOC's positive interaction with foreign partner services and the banking sector in Bulgaria, the statement added. Enditem