The SBP denies the fake news of cyberattack on 9 banks – including; HBL, UBL, and others – in Pakistan. It said that no bank, other than the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), was affected by the recent cybersecurity attack. The clarification came after some unconfirmed reports suggested that the hackers had gained access to the security systems of at least 9 Pakistani banks – that allegedly includes; HBL, UBL, and many others – and made withdrawals worth millions of rupees.
Read more: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Undergoes a Cyber Attack Causing Disruption in the Services
SBP denies the fake news doing rounds on social media
On Monday, the State Bank of Pakistan(SBP) wrote a clarification post on Facebook where the SBP denies the fake news about the cyberattack. The post reads; “Some fake news regarding cybersecurity attack on banks is in circulation including remarks attributed to Chief Spokesman, Mr. Abid Qamar. According to this fake news, 9 banks have been affected by the attack and that money has been withdrawn and data were stolen.” The post further added; “SBP denies the fake news. No bank, other than NBP, has faced a cyberattack. Further, no financial loss or data breach has been observed so far. SBP is monitoring the situation closely and it will share any update or information about the incident through its official channels.”
2/2 SBP rejects this news. No bank, other than NBP, has faced a cyberattack. Further, no financial loss or data breach has been observed so far. SBP is monitoring the situation closely and it will share any update or information about the incident through its official channels.
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) November 1, 2021
The latest update on the restoration
The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) – the victim of the cyberattack – has managed to restore some of its necessary banking services to the customers. The official statement from NBP reads; “NBP reported continuing successful operational recovery from the cyberattack on its systems which occurred on October 29th.” The statement further added; “All ATMs were available for withdrawals by NBP clients with transactions of over Rs5 billion being reported by more than 200,000 clients. This was a significant achievement by Team NBP as the first day of the month is critical given disbursement of salaries and pensions.”
NBP President, Arif Usmani, said that some 40-50 foreign and local experts are working to disinfect the system. Other than that, three highly professional companies, including Microsoft, are working to make the bank fully functional. The cyberattack on NBP is deemed similar to the attack on FBR that took place two months ago, the tax collection body took two weeks to fully recover from the cyberattack.
Source: ARY News
