Dozens Of Banks In Pakistan Were Hacked And The Estimated Pilferage Was 26 Lakh Rupees

Author - Nov 08, 2018

Almost all banks in Pakistan got hacked and the data of about 20,000 credit and debit cards were stolen. How incredible it is!

Pakistani residents must have a few terrible days when knowing that almost all of the local banks in Pakistan got hacked.

Citing from many sources, the data of about 20,000 credit and debit cards were stolen from 22 banks in Pakistan. Such an incident has never occurred. It’s clear to understand why people in Pakistan have been so worried.

According to the Pakistan Computer Emergency Response Team (PakCERT), the estimated pilferage reached at least 26 lakh Pakistani Rupees (about Rs 14.08 lakh). That means in fact, these banks lost much more.

The shocking information was only divulged when about 10 banks realized that there were extraordinary transactions. They forced to rapidly block all of the international transactions. The first bank giving a notice is BankIslami Pakistan.

Mohammad Shoaib, the Director of the cyber-crime wing at the Federal Investigation Agency (a.k.a FIA) confirmed that almost all banks in Pakistan got hacked and the FIA noticed to these banks. Additionally, managers from these banks held a meeting to discuss this especially critical incident.

He added that the hacked banks would also have the responsibility due to their weak security capacity.

A few days ago, the FIA caught a gang when its members cosplayed as army officials to withdraw money from banks.

When the case happened, all banks in Pakistan temporarily locked its international payments system and only accepted the payment in the biometric verification method via ATM cards in the domestic regions. Of course, they also returned the illegally withdrawn amount to the victims.

Next day, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) supported these banks to improve their security measures on the IT systems. Hopefully, all banks are willing to face new challenges in the future and the systems relating to card operations will be monitored more and more efficiently. This case is surely an unforgettable experience for banks in Pakistan in particular and those in the whole world in general.