ISLAMABAD: The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) on Sunday assured its customers their financial data had not been compromised in the wake of a cyberattack on the bank's IT infrastructure last week.
National Bank of Pakistan was hit by a cyberattack last week but no financial losses were reported thus far, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) confirmed on Sunday, adding that an investigation was underway.
NBP is Pakistan’s leading financial institution with 1,512 branches in the country and 21 overseas branches. Poor IT infrastructure has made Pakistani banks the victim of frequent cyberattacks, with industry experts estimating that cyber warfare costs local banks around a billion rupees in losses each year.
Pakistan reported more than 628 defacement attacks that changed the visual appearance of a website or a web page between January and September last year, according to data from cybersecurity service provider Pakistan Computer Emergency Response Team (PakCERT).
Cyber attacks have increased after the COVID-19 outbreak last February and subsequent lockdowns that increased online transactions.
"Following the cyberattack on its IT infrastructure on the night of the 29th of October, NBP assures its customers that their financial data has not been compromised and has remained protected, confidential and secured," the NBP said in a statement.
"The Bank has countered the threats and repaired the affected parts of its systems. NBP confirms that banking services including ATMs and the disbursement of salaries and pensions will be possible on November 01, 2021."
NBP teams, supported by best-in-class specialist partners, worked tirelessly over the last 48 hours to ensure that it managed the extraordinary situation, the statement read.
NBP branches will remain open and facilitate customers to ensure their banking requirements are met, the bank said, adding that its call centre (111-627-627) was also functional and empowered to facilitate resolution of all client inquiries.
