Hackers 'are selling data' from UAE and Qatar banks on the dark web

Financial data of bank customers sold for as little as $22.80 on dark web criminal forums

Hackers are reportedly selling data stolen from UAE InvestBank and Qatar National Bank on the Dark Web.

Both banks were hacked last year: in May 2016, a hacker leaked a 10GB file containing the financial and personal details of UAE InvestBank customers and clients including not just credit card numbers, but also passport numbers, CVV codes and other highly personal data.

The hacker went by the monicker ‘Hacker Buba', and demanded $3m in ransom - which the bank refused to pay. The hacker then released the data over the internet with a release via Google Drive.

Now, security website HackRead believes that the data is being sold on a popular 'dark web' marketplace for just $22.80 per account.

Meanwhile, in April 2016, Qatar National Bank suffered a data breach, in which 1.4GB of data from its customer database was leaked. This included financial records including credit card numbers, personal identification numbers, and customer transaction logs.

The hackers had claimed that the data dump included details of the Al-Thani Qatari royal family and Al Jazeera journalists. The stolen data is now being sold for only 0.0071 bitcoins ($18.86/£14.91).

Personal data, particularly information that can be used in identify theft, regularly turns up on dark web forums. Data found its way there after the hacks on LinkedIn in 2012, Dropbox in 2012, and MySpace in 2013. However, it's unclear whether the banks have issued new credit card and account details to customers who may have been affected by these breaches.

Earlier this week, SWIFT, the global system that all banks use to transfer money, revealed it suffered a huge slump in profits following a disastrous year in which it had to deal with cyber-attacks on banks specifically targeting its network.

The company's profit before tax fell by 31 per cent to €47m. The company said it had to heavily invest in security following the $81m theft from Bangladesh Bank in February 2016.