Hackers stole $31 million ($2 billion) from Russian Central Bank client accounts, but officials were able to recover $26 million ($1.66 billion) of the assets, according to the bank in a report issued, originally reported by Reuters.
On Thursday, a Twitter account linked to the hacker-activist organization Anonymous claimed Russia's central bank had been hacked and that 35,000 files on "secret deals" will be revealed within 48 hours.
The report does not say how Russian Central Bank officials detected the breach, but they did so in time to freeze some of the funds while they were being transferred between bank accounts to avoid being traced.
Anonymous is a loosely organized organization of hackers from all over the world which has been active since at least 2008 when it targeted the Church of Scientology.
It then shifted to 'hacktivism,' in which it targeted governments and corporations over key concerns. Members are known to wear Guy Fawkes masks and conceal one's voices with voice changers or text-to-speech tools.
The gang does not appear to have a clearly defined hierarchy or set of regulations, making it difficult to credit cyber operations effectively. Since before the Russian invasion, Ukraine's government, army, and banks had been subjected to Russian-sponsored cyber attacks. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation, told the press the main purpose of these attacks is to destabilize the country, stir panic, and create anarchy.
The incident is similar to one that occurred earlier this year when hackers attempted to steal over $1 billion from the Bangladesh Central Bank but only succeeded in stealing $81 million. The majority of the funds were sent to Philippine casinos. The Bangladesh Central Bank has so far been able to retrieve $18 million in stolen funds.
The study by the Russian Central Bank came on the same day the FSB (Federal Security Service) issued a warning about foreign intelligence services may try to destabilize Russia's financial system by spreading rumors of a false crisis, fake news about bank collapses, SMS alerts, and cyber-attacks.
The FSB claimed its agents discovered servers held by a Ukrainian web hosting company in the Netherlands which were supposed to be utilized in the alleged campaign.
Officials from the FSB said they were prepared to take any steps necessary to fight the danger.
