Sep 17, 2026 · 3 min · 8 segments
**In February 2016, hackers tried to move $951 million out of a central bank without ever stepping inside one. Most transfers failed — one because of a single typo. But $81 million slipped into a…
Picture this.
Hackers quietly infiltrate the computer systems of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh.
Once they're inside, they don't grab cash.
They grab something way more powerful.
Access to SWIFT.
And for anyone who doesn't know, SWIFT is basically the messaging system that banks all over the world use to move money.
If you can send trusted messages through SWIFT, you can move fortunes with a few keystrokes.
And that's exactly what they did.
The attackers used the bank's own legitimate access to fire off fraudulent transfer requests, trying to pull about $951 million out of Bangladesh Bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
$951 million.
Almost a billion dollars gone.
Or at least that was the plan.
Picture this.
Hackers quietly infiltrate the computer systems of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh.
Once they're inside, they don't grab cash.
They grab something way more powerful.
Access to SWIFT.
And for anyone who doesn't know, SWIFT is basically the messaging system that banks all over the world use to move money.
If you can send trusted messages through SWIFT, you can move fortunes with a few keystrokes.
And that's exactly what they did.
The attackers used the bank's own legitimate access to fire off fraudulent transfer requests, trying to pull about $951 million out of Bangladesh Bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
$951 million.
Almost a billion dollars gone.
Or at least that was the plan.
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