SBP denies 'fake news' regarding cyber attack on nine banks

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Monday denied reports of cyber security attacks on nine banks of the country and said that no bank other than the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) faced a cyber attack, ARY NEWS reported.

In a series of messages shared from its Twitter handle, the central bank while rejecting fake news being circulated online said that no bank, other than the NBP, has faced a cyberattack.

“Some fake news regarding cybersecurity attack on banks is in circulation including remarks attributed to Chief Spokesman Abid Qamar,” it said while sharing the fake news that claimed that nine banks have been affected by the attack and that money has been withdrawn and data stolen.

2/2 SBP rejects these 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

It said that the SBP rejects such news and 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.”

It is pertinent to mention here that the Pakistani government-owned and State Bank’s subsidiary National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has yet to restore its banking system after it collapsed following a cyber-attack late last week by an unknown source, which could mean delays in the salaries of public servants and government employees among other issues.

According to the NBP sources privy to the development, the banking system conceded a malware attack yesterday and has collapsed ever since. A team of technical experts is trying to resolve the matter but has not succeeded so far.

Among other things to suffer due to the hiccup in the system are tax collections and pensions being paid.