Cybercrime , Cybercrime as-a-service , Fraud Management & Cybercrime

How Do You Detect - and Stop - Bank Identity Number Attacks?

Brightwell Payment's Ernie Moran on Lessons Learned From BIN Attack on His Firm
Ernie Moran, SVP, Risk, Brightwell Payments

How do you identify a BIN - Bank Identity Number - attack, let alone stop it? Ernie Moran, senior vice president of risk at Brightwell Payments, an Atlanta, Georgia-based fintech company specializing in helping global workers get paid and in sending and spending money safely and easily worldwide, shares his experience of how he managed a BIN attack on his firm that led to losses of almost $2.5 million. BIN attacks happen when fraudsters take the first six digits of a card and use a software to generate the remaining digits.

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"Initially, we did not know what was happening, and it caused a little bit of panic when we started seeing it. Our first reaction was: How do we figure out how much money has moved off the cards, and how do we get that money back to the customers?" says Moran.

In a video interview with Information Security Media Group, he also discusses:

  • How the firm realized it had been hit by a BIN attack;
  • The firm's initial, unsuccessful attempt to stop the attack and the approach it took after that;
  • Lessons learned and tips to stop a BIN attack.

Moran is a 25-year veteran of the payments industry. Before joining Brightwell Payments, he was with Merchant e-Solutions.


About the Author

Suparna Goswami

Suparna Goswami

Associate Editor, ISMG

Goswami has more than 10 years of experience in the field of journalism. She has covered a variety of beats including global macro economy, fintech, startups and other business trends. Before joining ISMG, she contributed for Forbes Asia, where she wrote about the Indian startup ecosystem. She has also worked with UK-based International Finance Magazine and leading Indian newspapers, such as DNA and Times of India.




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