Bank Sues Cyberheist Victim to Recover Funds
Summary: Park Sterling Bank is suing former client Wallace & Pittman PLLC to recover a $336,600.61 provisional credit it fronted after a May 9, 2012 cyberheist, in which thieves used the law firm's legitimate credentials and keystroke-logging malware to wire funds through JP Morgan Chase to a bank in Moscow. The firm obtained a restraining order against the bank's debit, drained its three accounts, and now argues the bank's authentication - a username, password, static 4-digit wire code, and two unchanging challenge questions - was not commercially reasonable.
What you should know: The case turns on whether the bank offered dual controls and the firm declined them, which under UCC Article 4A could shift the loss to the customer - and the account at issue held client escrow money, not the firm's own funds.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
- Topics
- Data Breaches
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