Wednesday, October 4, 2000

Italian police stop digital bank robbery The robbers had hacked the computer system of the Banco de Sicilia and had almost started booking more than half a milliard dollars (2 trillion lira) to other bank accounts. The Italian paper *La Repubblica* says the group aimed at European money designated for the regional administration of Sicily. Apparently, the group also had plans to rob the Vatican bank, the IOR. The police arrested 21 persons: Mafiosi, computer experts, and corrupt bank employees. They are charged with money laundering, attempted burglary, and connections with the Mafia. Most of them come from Palermo (Sicily). With the cooperation of employees of the bank, the group made a computer system that looks exactly like the bank's and could connect to the bank's network after closing time. Bank employees provided the necessary passwords. The police caught the bank robbers with the help of telephone taps. (Source: ANP, 4 October 2000). Meine van der Meulen SIMTECH ENGINEERING, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, ["Meine van der Meulen" via risks-digest Volume 21, Issue 08] 0:00 # G!