Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on February 16, 2023
5 min readLast updated: February 2, 2026
Financial institutions in French-speaking African countries have been targeted by cybercriminals for months. The hackers carried out their last attack in September 2022 and continue to pose a threat.
Financial institutions in French-speaking African countries have been targeted by cybercriminals for months. The hackers carried out their last attack in September 2022 and continue to pose a threat.
Researchers reported in November that a crew of French-speaking attackers, nicknamed “OPERA1ER”, had targeted financial institutions around the world, netting as much as over $30 million.
More recently, another cybercrime group, “Bluebottle,” reportedly targeted financial institutions in French-speaking Africa. Although it is difficult to link the two groups due to their different strategies, researchers have concluded that both actors may be the same.
Similarities between the two cybercrime groups include:
Researchers say the latest attacks may have been carried out with the help of phishing and spear-phishing. Some malicious files were executables disguised as PDFs and had French, non-threatening names, such as “job description.”
French-speaking parts of Africa are not the only ones dealing with cyber criminals. Financial institutions have become a target around the world. This industry is probably up to 300 times more vulnerable to attacks than any other.
Even now, European banks have to fend off attacks. In Denmark, both the central bank and private banks have been recently targeted by cybercriminals launching DDoS attacks to disrupt their services and render them useless to clients. The attacks were most likely the responsibility of pro-Russian hackers, who are also the cause of the country’s increased national threat level.
The Ukraine-Russia war has left its mark on financial institutions around the world. Pro-Russian cybercriminals are targeting banks in the U.S. and Europe, claiming to be fighting “neo-Nazis” who support Ukraine’s defense against unjustified invasion.
Ransomware attacks account for a large portion of all cyberattacks initiated against financial institutions. Ransomware is a type of malware capable of encrypting important files so that they can no longer be used. Criminals using ransomware force their victims to pay them to recover data.
Those criminals who do not code or break into systems simply use humans. Workers in the financial industry are especially vulnerable to all kinds of scams. They can be tricked into revealing important data or letting the hacker into a closed system.
This is one of the most sophisticated and complex methods used by hackers. Instead of targeting institutions, they can target their software vendors and, for example, replace future updates with malware. This method allows hackers to profit from multiple organizations that happen to be their victim’s clients.
Unfortunately, as their customer, you have little say regarding their security regarding banks and other financial institutions. You cannot control how they protect your data or what preventive measures they take.
You can, however, increase your online safety by deciding how to use financial services.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts files on a victim's computer, making them inaccessible until a ransom is paid to the attacker.
Social engineering is a tactic used by cybercriminals to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential information, often through deception.
Phishing attacks involve fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information, such as usernames and passwords, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in electronic communications.
Threat monitoring refers to the continuous observation of systems and networks to detect and respond to potential security threats in real-time.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a security process that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource, enhancing security.
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