Universal Pictures is producing “Billion Dollar Heist”, a documentary based on the 2016 cyber heist where $101 million was stolen from Bangladesh Bank (BB).
The documentary directed by Daniel Gordon is set to be available in the US on August 16.
“Billion Dollar Heist” reveals how hackers used the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication’s banking system to transfer messaging networks in banks to one another around the world. Through this, $101 million was illegally withdrawn from the BB account of the United States Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Through multiple interviews with various cyber security experts and author Misha Glenn, the robbery is presented on a larger canvas as a data point. The documentary aims to highlight how the sophistication and prevalence of cybercrime has evolved in recent years.
At least $81 million of the stolen reserves were transferred to the accounts of Manila, Philippines based Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC). From there the money was spent in casinos in the Philippines.
On March 15, 2016, BB Deputy Director Zubair bin Huda filed the case at Motijheel police station. So far, Bangladesh has recovered $15 million from RCBC and $20 million from a bank in Sri Lanka.
BB filed another case on February 1, 2023 in the United States against RCBC to recover the remaining $66 million.
This real life incident shook the whole world, causing international cyber security experts to become vigilant.
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