SBP Clarifies Rumors of Cyberattack on 9 Banks

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has rejected the news reports, circulating in various sections of media, of cybersecurity attacks on banks, including remarks attributed to Chief Spokesman, Abid Qamar. It was claimed in the reports that nine banks suffered cyberattacks and that the money was withdrawn and data was stolen. The SBP has clarified that no bank, other than the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), has faced any cyberattack, nor has any financial loss or data breach been observed. The central bank affirmed that it was closely monitoring the situation and would share any update or information about the incident through its official channels. Last week, hackers reportedly targeted a section of the computer systems at NBP and caused disruption in payments for thousands of public sector employees. The cyberattack disrupted NPB services throughout the country, prompting fears that the payment of salaries and pensions to public sector employees would be delayed. It was claimed that the NBP services to its customers were disrupted, and the bank was working with SBP to address the breach.