Australian aerospace firm FACC announced yesterday the immediate dismissal of CEO Walter Stephan.
“In the supervisory board meeting, held on May 24, 2016, Mr. Walter Stephan (CEO) was revoked by the supervisory board as chairman of the management board of FACC AG with immediate effect for important reason. The supervisory board came to the conclusion, that Mr. Walter Stephan has severely violated his duties, in particular in relation to the "Fake President Incident". Reuters confirms this is a reference to a successful phishing email. “The hoax email asked an employee to transfer money to an account for a fake acquisition project - a kind of scam known as a "fake president incident".”
CSO Online describes the a phishing scheme that “tricked FACC financial controllers into wiring €52.8m to fraudsters during what appears to be several transactions.”
Although some of the funds have been able to be recover, multiple sources place the total loss at $42 million.
That’s right; A $42 million loss and CEO ouster triggered by spoofed email. While phishing and other forms of social engineering are viewed by some security practitioners as less exciting than network, application, or endpoint security – social engineering attacks can have devastating impact.
This should also serve as a reminder that chief executives are increasingly held responsible for cyber breaches. FACC shares fell “38 percent since the incident," according to CSO Online, but rose 5% “on news of the results and Stephan's departure.”
Sources:
FACC Press Release: DI Walter Stephan (CEO) was revoked from the management board with immediate effect
Reuters: Austria's FACC, hit by cyber fraud, fires CEO
CSO Online: CEO fired after ‘fake CEO’ email scam cost firm $47m
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