Gang held in Santander hack scam

The Metropolitan Police has foiled a major hack attack on Santander which would have seen a gang take remote control of a branch computer to steal millions of pounds from customer accounts.
The force has arrested 12 men in connection with the attempt, which was perpetrated using a device known as a keyboard video mouse switch, allowing a user to control multiple computers from one keyboard.
The Met Police said a “time-critical, dynamic response” by detectives and bank officials thwarted what is described as a “very significant and audacious cyber-enabled offence”.
A spokesman for the Met said it was not clear whether any money was taken, but the bank told Sky News “no money was ever at risk.”
Police arrested 11 men in Hounslow and another in Victoria, while searches were carried out in Westminster, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Brent, Richmond and Slough, where property was seized.
A Santander spokesman said: “Like all high street banks, Santander works very closely with the police and other authorities to help prevent fraud.
“Through this co-operation, Santander was aware of the possibility of the attack connected to the arrests. The attempt to fit the device to the computer in the Surrey Quays Branch was undertaken by a bogus maintenance engineer pretending to be from a third party.”
The bank confirmed no Santander staff were involved.

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