Market issues alert for new hacker attack on Pix system

Financial market participants report a new hacking attempt on the Pix system. This time, the target was fintech Monetarie—a securitization company that advances amounts sold on credit. So far, the embezzlement amounts reportedly total R$5 million.

The hackers reportedly initially attempted to attack the Pix system, but apparently were unsuccessful. Alternatively, they targeted the fintech's TED transfer messaging system.

Upon identifying the Pix fraud attempts, Monetarie reportedly disconnected from the BC system preventively, preventing the attack from escalating.

Gazeta do Povo obtained information about the attack from a fintech company operating in the financial market. According to the company, an alert was generated in a group of entrepreneurs in the sector urging everyone to prevent and block transfers originating from Monetarie.

The alert to market operators' security teams against the hacker attack also mentioned the reinforcement of continuous monitoring of all financial transactions, as well as increased levels of authentication and surveillance in all payment systems.

According to the PlatôBr website, the attack is under investigation by the Federal Police and the Central Bank. Gazeta do Povo contacted Monetarie and the Central Bank for more information. As of this report's publication, the fintech and the monetary authority had not responded.

If confirmed, this will be the third hacker attack on the financial system that uses the Pix payment system. The first , targeting C&M and embezzling approximately R$1 billion, occurred in early July.

Last Friday (29), the target was Sinqia, a company that connects several institutions to Pix. Initially, the embezzlement was estimated at R$420 million, but updated values ​​indicate that R$710 million was stolen.