DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s central bank chief resigned yesterday, the finance minister said, after hackers stole $81 million from the nation’s foreign reserves in an audacious cyber-heist that has hugely embarrassed the government.
“He called me yesterday and I’ve asked him to resign. And he has resigned today,” minister A.M.A Muhith told Agence France-Presse, referring to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor Atiur Rahman.
“I am ready to resign from my post for the sake of the country,” Rahman told journalists yesterday morning.
The hacking took place on the night of February 4, a Thursday, using information stolen through the malware, which sent a total of 35 transfer orders to the NY Federal Reserve Bank where the BB has an account. The next two days – Friday and Saturday – were a weekend in Bangladesh.
The powerful malware not only hacked into the system, but also destroyed the system on the computers itself, which are used by the officials to make transfer orders. Data on the printers were also destroyed by the malware.