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Biggest Cyberattack in History at Banks; Israeli Prime Ministers Tells Jews to Come Home to Israel; Week 2 of "American Sniper" Trial; SNL Celebrates 40 Years

Aired February 16, 2015 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. It could be the biggest bank heist in history. Cyberattackers getting their hands on about a billion dollars from more than 100 banks in 25 countries, including here in the United States. How is this possible?

Let's bring in cybersecurity expert, Gary Miliefsky, to talk about this.

Gary, I know I'm a layman on this issue. Please help us explain. I don't understand the scope of something like this. How can you pull this off? How could anyone pull this off? 100 banks in 25 countries?

GARY MILIEFSKY, CYBERSECURITY EXPERT & CONSUMER ADVOCATE: Well, Kate, we're looking on the heels of the Sony breach followed by Anthem breach of 80 million records, including my own as an Anthem customer, and now over 100 banks with potentially 300 million to one billion stolen. It's all about remote access trojans and spear phishing attacks.

BOLDUAN: Does that mean someone had to do something wrong inside the bank first to let them in or can they get in because there's a clear vulnerability in all of these banking systems?

MILIEFSKY: Most companies have the same vulnerability and when people say this is a very sophisticated attack, it's really not. It's about patience. First, they understood how the mail servers worked and messages people sent to each other and then they sent an e-mail with an attachment called remote access trojan or rat that looked like a normal file. Somebody opened that file by accident and didn't know it was malicious.

BOLDUAN: Maybe it should be more troubling the fact that it's not that complex in your words. It really wasn't that difficult to pull off and just required patience. If they get in, Gary, how did the banks not detect this? Some banks were hit multiple times in different ways losing money hand over fist.

MILIEFSKY: Just like the guardians of peace, this group created a similar piece of malware, remote access trojan and way people use these is they eavesdrop when you least expect it. If your anti-virus doesn't know there's malware on the computer and computer appears to be operating normally to you, the user, something hidden you can't see is off doing things. Spying on you. Watching your key strokes. Looking at you on the webcam. Listening in if you have a microphone and laptop.

BOLDUAN: I understand my security software may not be up to date. We would hope our banking systems, all of our banks would have much more secure systems to protect against this. None of the banks have been named so we can't seek comment from them. Do banking systems security software that out of date?

MILIEFSKY: A couple things. While banks haven't been named, JPMorgan Chase and agricultural bank of China is where they deposited millions of dollars. So they used victim accounts and they created spoofed accounts and moved money to those two large banks. Banks have firewalls and they have anti-virus and encryption. The problem is as I wrote in "My Year of the Rat Threat" report this year, nobody knows how to handle social engineering 101 where we get an e-mail and it has something that's new that's not detectible by the latest anti-virus, these new rats.

BOLDUAN: Real quick, are they going to get this money back?

MILIEFSKY: Great question. You know, even the White House, Secret Service, FBI, everybody is getting involved. One of the issues is whose money was stolen? And how will they get it back?

BOLDUAN: I pose that to you and everyone else. I don't know. That's for sure.

(LAUGHTER)

Gary, thank you very much for laying that out for us. Have a good one.

Coming up for us, the man accused of killing American sniper, Chris Kyle, said he shot Kyle because he wouldn't talk to him. How much could those strange comments help the defense? What impact will it have on the jury?

And as signs of anti-Semitism erupt across Europe, Israel's prime minister sends a message to the Jews, come home. Next, Rabbi Hier is joining us with his reaction.

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BOLDUAN: More violence against Jews in Europe is prompting a familiar refrain from Benjamin Netanyahu, come home. Following the shooting death of a Jewish security guard outside a security guard in Copenhagen and, of course, the attack on a Jewish cemetery in northeast France, Netanyahu is calling for immigration of Jews back to Israel. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translation): I would like to tell all of the European Jews, and all Jews wherever you are, Israel is the home of every Jew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Let's discuss this. I'm joined now by Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

Rabbi, it's great to see you.

You're an important voice on many issues but this one especially because it's really hit a nerve with a lot of folks. I want to get your take. What do you think of the prime minister's remarks?

MARVIN HIER, RABBI, SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER: The prime minister is only doing his job. He's the prime minister of Israel, the only Jewish state in the world, he sees Jews being threatened and murdered throughout Europe and he says you're welcome in Israel. He would be faulted if he didn't say that by the people of Israel. He's Israel's prime minister.

I do understand that some Danish leaders said, no, terrorism is not going to be a reason that we come to Israel. It's fine if they feel that way. There's no question that we have never seen since the end of the Second World War a spate of anti-Semitism like this. Even Hitler would be surprised. He wrote in his final will and testament that it may take a few centuries before people aspire to my philosophy. He would be shocked that all over Europe today, anti- Semitism is back in vogue tragically so.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely we've seen a rise in anti-Semitism. One statistic stood out to me. More than 7,000 French Jews moved to Israel in 2014. That's double the year prior. That's just one small example when you talk about the rise in anti-Semitism and how European Jews are by in large many are scared. What is behind the rise in anti-Semitism?

HIER: To be very frank, if you look at it, everyone uses the word random lone-wolf attack. In a way, it's not true. All of these lone wolves were radicalized by whom? By imams of radical fundamentalism. I disagree with President Obama. I think it's wrong to say that any of this is random. We have to admit that while the overwhelming majority of world Muslims reject jihad, at the same time a significant minority, according to the Pew study, 78 percent of Muslims reject jihad. A whopping 22 percent do not. 22 percent, if you look at statistics and compare it to the world's Muslim population, that would be a larger amount than all of the axis powers combined that fought in World War II. That's a world catastrophe. I would not use the word "random." I think it's a mistake. It has a name. It's called Islamic fundamentalism.

BOLDUAN: When you look at what's happening in Europe. Examples in Paris. The recent example in Copenhagen. You have the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying come home. But he's facing a lot of criticism. I want your take on why you think folks are criticizing the prime minister for extending the invitation. Listen to the former chief rabbi of Denmark and his response in criticizing Netanyahu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENT LEXNER, FORMER CHIEF RABBI OF DENMARK: I think that the prime minister of Israel will say what he wants. I don't think it's the right time or right way to say it. I hope and think that if they are going to Israel, it's because they want to live in Israel, not because they're afraid of living in Denmark.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Rabbi, do you fault European leaders for not doing enough to protect European Jews?

HIER: Yes, I do. I think we have to ask the following question. It was a wonderful thing to see. 3,700,000 people in the streets of Paris after the attack against the journalists. May we ask the question, where were the tens of thousands of people of Paris when Jews have been attacked month after month. Let's have a hundred thousand people go into the street and protest what happened to the Jews. I would expect French people should say we're not going to allow this ever to happen again to the Jewish community. If Jews are attacked, they should take to the streets because Jews were attacked. That's not happened in Europe. And by the way, I would say one other warning. It may begin with the Jews, but it won't end with the Jews. This is attack on Western civilization. As I said, the overwhelming majority of Muslims reject it. A significant minority do not and they're a threat to Western civilization.

BOLDUAN: Would you advise congregates -- if you had congregates living in Europe right now, would you tell them it's time to go? What's your advice?

HIER: Well, I would hate to tell them to go, because then the geography for Jews would be that Jews would have two or three countries to live in and the rest of the world would be off-limits. That would be terrible. I can't make that decision. Parents have to make that decision. If they think they are afraid that their children are targets, that's their decision to make. If you ask me philosophically do I think it's a good idea for Jews to withdraw from the geography of the world, I do not.

BOLDUAN: You make a good point. If prime minister of Israel isn't going to say you're welcome to move here, who is?

Rabbi Marvin Hier, thank you so much.

Coming up for us, week two of the American sniper trial is getting under way in Texas. The defendant reportedly saying that the victims wouldn't talk to him so he shot them. How will that play with the jury? Our legal analysts are coming in.

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BOLDUAN: Week two of the so-called "American Sniper" murder trial is under way this morning in Texas. This is the case where former Marine Eddie Ray Routh is charged with killing veterans, Chris Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield. Kyle is the former Navy SEAL who is the subject of the hit movie "American Sniper." Routh's lawyer admits that his client killed the men says Routh was insane at the time. A deputy is now testifying that he overheard Routh saying this: "I shot them because they couldn't talk to me. I was just riding in the backseat of the truck and nobody would talk to me. They were just talking to me -- they were just taking me to the range, so I shot them. I felt bad about it, but they wouldn't talk to me. I'm sure they have forgiven me."

Let's discuss and all the other twists and turns of the legal case so far. CNN legal analyst, Paul Callan, is here.

"I shot them because they wouldn't talk to me," Paul. What does that show? What's that going to tell the jury?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's very strange. I think the thing we have to emphasize, where we have an insanity defense, as you do in this trial, is that severe mental illness is not the same as legal insanity. Because ordinary people would hear a story like that and say, he must be insane if he's going to shoot somebody because they wouldn't talk to him. But in terms of the law, it's a very restrictive defense and you have to show that, A, you didn't know the nature and consequences of your act, or, B, that it was wrong. In other words, you didn't know if you pulled the trigger a bullet would come out.

BOLDUAN: Regardless, if you're a juror, it has to make an impact, even if they have to make a distinction.

CALLAN: Here's what the prosecutor is going to say to this Texas jury. That statement indicates that he was shooting them, he had a motive. It's a lame motive. But it shows that he was punishing them for not talking to him. That means he understood that what he was doing was going to have consequences. So they're positing that to use that as their argument that this doesn't meet the insanity standard from a legal standpoint.

BOLDUAN: It's so confusing. It really is difficult to follow all the twists and turns. Including this one. Eddie Ray Routh has an uncle. The uncle eventually says, in the course of the investigation, that Routh pulled up and told him, "I'm driving a dead man's truck," referencing Chris kill's truck, which he tried to escape in. But the uncle wasn't alarmed because Eddie Ray Routh said crazy things all the time.

CALLAN: Yes. And the uncle, you know, repeated that testimony. But he also repeated other testimony that the two of them discussed religion often. He played some kind of a Jesus hymn, which the prosecutor is going say, once again, is an indication that Routh understood the difference between right and wrong, and if he understands the difference between right and wrong, he doesn't meet the Texas insanity law.

Texas law is so strange. I'll just tell you one story. There's a guy who's on death row now, who, when he was tried, wore a purple cowboy suit, subpoenaed John F. Kennedy, the pope, and 200 other witnesses to his trial. He was rambling incoherently. A Texas jury convicted him in one day and sentenced him to death. They didn't buy the insanity defense in that case. So it's a tough mountain to climb in Texas if you claim insanity.

BOLDUAN: I would say so. We don't know that Eddie Ray Routh is wearing any of those things or trying to have any of those people come to testify in this case.

CALLAN: Not so far.

BOLDUAN: Not so far.

CALLAN: OK.

BOLDUAN: Paul, thank you so much.

CALLAN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: You want to catch CNN special "American Sniper Report," hosted by Alisyn Camarota and Chris Cuomo, that is 9:00 p.m. Wednesday night.

Coming up for us, "Saturday Night Live" celebrates its big 4-0. Four decades of "SNL" legends came together last night for a star-studded trip down memory lane. We're going to show you the highlights next.

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BOLDUAN: NBC airs an epic 40th anniversary special for "Saturday Night Live" cast members who left the show long ago, like Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Martin Short, Chevy Chase. They came back last night to help celebrate. Some recreated the characters that even helped make them famous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Live from New York it's "Saturday Night"!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sean, you control the board.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I'll take "Horash" (ph) for $200.

(SINGING)

(SINGING)

(APPLAUSE)

BOLDUAN: Yes, I know what you're saying. Yes, less of Kate, more of "SNL." I get it. I get it.

Let's bring in Professor Robert Thompson from Syracuse University, a television and pop culture expert.

Professor, when you look at this, NBC really blew it out for the special. Yes, it's 40 years, a 40th anniversary. It was a three and a half-hour event. They had a red carpet beforehand. Some folks really say it speaks to how "SNL" went beyond comedy. It kind of spoke to -- it was kind of our cultural mirror, if you will.

ROBERT THOMPSON, PROFESSOR, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: Yeah. And, boy, did they ever. I don't normally like these clip shows. They go on too long. But this was just an absolute masterpiece. Not since the Motown 25th anniversary back in '85 have I seen something so beautifully put together. And I think you put your finger on it. Especially for people of a certain age, definitely my age, there was no -- "Saturday Night Live" starts in '75. MTV doesn't start until '81. There was no "The Daily Show." There was Carson, was about it. So when this came out in '75, there was nothing on the air like it. And it really became a generational identifier. And while its position in the culture is different now and not so central, for about 20 years there, between '75 and the mid 90s, "SNL" was a very, very important cultural entity.

BOLDUAN: I mean, it really helped shape -- as you said, for a generation, it helped shape how folks approached, discussed, or even digested very serious -- as I say, serious -- Bradley Cooper making out with Betty White.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: But those two things, when you really juxtapose them, does "SNL" still have that influence for today? Can they have that influence today?

THOMPSON: By the way, that wasn't the dirtiest Betty White joke of the night, which is pretty funny. I won't say what the other was.

BOLDUAN: Please, do.

THOMPSON: Well, there was something about Betty White's here tonight, so we're all getting laid. That was the other joke that came later in the episode.

(LAUGHTER)

Betty was featured in important places here.

But your question about its centrality. When "Saturday Night Live" came out, we had Johnny Carson. He told jokes about politics but he wasn't a political satirist. Now we have "The Daily Show," which some of the most important political analysis we have out there. I don't think that show would have happened had "Saturday Night Live" not kind of cleared the real estate. It's like "Saturday Night Live" goes into the wilderness in the '70s, starts doing things that would have seemed outrageous on television before, and leaves the space then for these other things to move in. Comedy is now an important part of the civic conversation and we have "Saturday Night Live" to thank for a lot of that.

BOLDUAN: Also kind of became the place to go, when you think of the list of politics that have been skewered and played along. Sarah Palin is just one of them.

THOMPSON: Right. Gerald Ford showed up in a taped thing. Obama has shown up. Sarah Palin, of course, was there last night. She's become one of the most beloved alumnae of the program. So, yes, there is always this dicey relationship between those making fun and those being made fun of. And if you don't play along -- even Richard Nixon went on "Laugh In." That shows how important it is to play along with the clowns.

BOLDUAN: I guess so. I guess so. And we will continue to play along with them.

Professor Robert Thompson, it's great to see you. Thank you so much.

THOMPSON: Thank you so much.

BOLDUAN: All right.

Thanks for joining us, you guys. A very busy day. A lot coming up in NEWSROOM, a lot to get to.

But let's get you straight over to "LEGAL VIEW" with Poppy Harlow. It starts right now.