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| Arrests over 'cyber plot' to steal from Santander bank | Arrests over 'cyber plot' to steal from Santander bank |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Twelve men have been arrested over an "audacious" alleged plot to remotely take control of a bank's computer. | |
| Police found a device fitted to a computer in a branch of Santander which would have enabled the suspects to download data from the desktop machine. | Police found a device fitted to a computer in a branch of Santander which would have enabled the suspects to download data from the desktop machine. |
| Police arrested 12 men, aged between 23 and 50, in London on suspicion of conspiracy to steal. | Police arrested 12 men, aged between 23 and 50, in London on suspicion of conspiracy to steal. |
| The "very significant" plot targeted the bank branch in Surrey Quays in south-east London, police said. | The "very significant" plot targeted the bank branch in Surrey Quays in south-east London, police said. |
| A Santander spokesman said a man pretending to be an engineer had tried to fit the device to one of the computers in the bank. | |
| Several addresses in Hounslow, Brent, Hillingdon, Westminster, Richmond and Slough were searched and property was seized. | Several addresses in Hounslow, Brent, Hillingdon, Westminster, Richmond and Slough were searched and property was seized. |
| The arrested men, who were detained on Thursday, remain in police custody. | The arrested men, who were detained on Thursday, remain in police custody. |
| The Metropolitan Police said its "time-critical, dynamic response" had thwarted a "very significant and audacious cyber-enabled offence". | The Metropolitan Police said its "time-critical, dynamic response" had thwarted a "very significant and audacious cyber-enabled offence". |
| 'Remote takeover' | |
| The force said the operation had helped avoid "multimillion-pound losses" from the branch at the shopping centre. | |
| A a KVM (keyboard video mouse) device was fitted to a computer within the bank which allowed data and contents of the desktop to be downloaded over the network, police said. | |
| This would allow the remote takeover of the bank's computers, they added. | |
| Det Insp Mark Raymond said: "This was a sophisticated plot that could have led to the loss of a very large amount of money from the bank, and is the most significant case of this kind that we have come across. | |
| "I would like to thank our partners from the industry who have provided valuable assistance throughout this investigation." | |
| A spokesman for the bank said: "Through this co-operation, Santander was aware of the possibility of the attack connected to the arrests. | |
| "The attempt to fit the device to the computer in the Surrey Quays Branch was undertaken by a bogus maintenance engineer pretending to be from a third party. | |
| "It failed and no money was ever at risk. No member of Santander staff was involved in this attempted fraud." |