State of Utah Fleeced for $2.5 Million
Over 2.5 Million dollars was stolen from the State of Utah’s Treasury, according to a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribute. According to the article, an attacker obtained a vendor number for the University of Utah’s construction department, then submitted paperwork with a forged signature from the director changing the departments back account to a new Bank of America account located in Texas (The article uses the word “signature” but I can’t seem to find if it was digital or hand-written, I am assuming hand-written given the context). The attacker apparently set up this account using intermediaries who may not have known its purpose. With the account in place, and the paperwork filed, the attacker began submitting invoices on the State of Utah’s website on behalf of the University department, such that deposits were made, summing to nearly $2.5 million, into the fraudulent account. Fortunately the account was frozen before $1.8 million dollars were transfered, resulting in a net loss of $700,000. (Read on …)