New Zealand banks and financial institutions are being urged to double-check their security practices following an unprecedented cyber attack on Bangladesh's central bank.
Unknown hackers tried to steal more than $1 billion from the Bangladesh bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and $119 million was transferred to accounts in the Philippines, in one of the largest cyber heists in history.
The Brussels-based SWIFT cooperative messaging service owned by 3000 global financial institutions is asking banks - including New Zealand's Reserve Bank - to review their internal security.
Other New Zealand institutions which hold Swift codes include the ASB, ANZ, BNZ, Kiwibank, TSB, Westpac, Fonterra, and directors of NZ Superannuation.