Ostrobothnia District Court on Tuesday sentenced two men to prison terms as well as fines and compensation payments after finding the pair guilty of hacking into Nordea Bank's computer system in an attempt to steal several million euros.
The main defendant, a 28-year-old man, was sentenced to three years and two months for charges including aggravated data hacking and aggravated payment fraud. The man was also found guilty of eight other charges of less serious crimes.
The other defendant, 27, was sentenced to a two-year prison sentence for aggravated payment fraud and four lesser crimes. Both defendants were ordered to pay around 276,000 euros to Nordea as well as 70,000 euros in legal fees.
A third defendant who worked at the bank when the crimes were committed also faced prosecution, but was acquitted because the individual's guilt was not proven without a reasonable doubt, according to the court.
Hacking crimes in 2019
The crimes were committed in the summer of 2019 in the city of Vaasa and were chiefly aimed at the bank's employees as well as its customers.
According to the prosecutor, the defendants used a keystroke logger (a device used to surreptitiously record users' keystrokes) to gain access to bank employee login and password details.
Using those codes and a stolen computer, the men then gained access to bank customer details.
When the case headed to court earlier this autumn, Helsingin Sanomat reported (in Finnish) that the men had managed to steal more than 670,000 euros from a customer's account.
