Ransomware attack shuts down payment systems in nearly 300 Indian banks
A ransomware attack on technology service provider C-Edge Technologies has temporarily shut down payment systems across nearly 300 small local banks in India, according to two sources directly aware of the matter.
C-Edge Technologies, which provides banking technology systems to small banks nationwide, has not responded to an email seeking comment. Similarly, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not reply to Reuters' request for comment.
The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), which oversees payment systems, issued a public advisory late Wednesday, stating that it had "temporarily isolated C-Edge Technologies from accessing the retail payments system operated by NPCI."
"Customers of banks serviced by C-Edge will not be able to access payment systems during the period of isolation," the NPCI announced.
To prevent a wider impact, nearly 300 small banks have been isolated from the broader payment network, according to sources who are officials at a regulatory authority. "Most of these are small banks and only about 0.5% of the country's payment system volumes would be impacted," one source said.
India has nearly 1,500 cooperative and regional banks, mainly operating outside major cities, and some of these banks have been affected, the sources told Reuters.
NPCI is conducting an audit to ensure the attack does not spread, the second source added.
In recent weeks, the RBI and Indian cyber authorities have warned banks about potential cyber-attacks, according to banking industry sources and the first source.
With inputs from Reuters.
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Compromised PM didn't sign trade deal with US, but a bargain for Adani's release: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing a trade deal with the US only to secure the "release" of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
"Compromised PM did not strike a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, after reports that the US has agreed to settle the lawsuit that accused Adani of hiding alleged bribery.
The US government has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against Adani, who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published Thursday.
Reacting to the reports, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was now clear why the PM agreed to the "hopelessly one-sided Indo-US trade deal that was really a steal by the US".
"And it is also clear why he abruptly halted Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, acting on President Trump's threats rather than on our national interest. Reportedly, the Trump Administration is about to drop all charges of corruption against Modani," he said on X.
"How much more compromised can the PM get?" Ramesh asked.
In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, of agreeing to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years.
It was alleged in the lawsuit that Adani Group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate had denied the allegations.
