# Police Arrest Suspect in $100M Brazilian Banking Hack
A breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into a massive cyberattack has led to the arrest of a suspect in connection with a breach that diverted over 540 million Brazilian reais (approximately $100 million) from Brazil's banking systems, authorities announced on Friday.
The arrest was made by police in São Paulo, who identified the suspect as João Roque, an employee at C&M, a software company that connects financial institutions to the Central Bank to enable transactions through the widely used instant payment system PIX. According to officials, Roque allegedly played a crucial role in helping hackers gain unauthorized access to PIX systems.
Police say that Roque told investigators he sold his credentials to hackers earlier this year, who then recruited him for the cyberattack. The Associated Press could not immediately reach Roque's lawyers for comment.
The breach, which occurred on a single night, targeted financial institutions contracted with C&M and did not affect clients directly. However, the total losses could be even higher, according to officials.
According to police, hackers carried out massive fake PIX operations after breaching the company's system. The fraud took place in a single night and was detected by authorities shortly after. Police are now working to identify other members of the group involved in the cyberattack and tracking suspected assets linked to the scheme.
Suspicious activity totals at least four more individuals who participated in the cyberattack, police said. Authorities have also blocked 270 million reais linked to the scheme so far.
Brazil's Central Bank stated that it suspended part of C&M's operations after the company took measures to reduce the risk of further attacks. The bank emphasized that preliminary evidence indicates the breach stemmed from unauthorized access to security credentials through social engineering, not from flaws in their systems.
C&M released a statement published by local media, confirming their cooperation with authorities and stating that preliminary evidence suggests the breach was caused by unauthorized access to security credentials through social engineering.
For the latest updates on this developing story, follow AP's coverage of Latin America at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america.
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