NPCI blames Cosmos Bank for malware attacks
Mumbai, Aug 15: The National Payments Corp of India (NPCI) on Wednesday held the Cosmos Cooperative Bank Ltd's "own IT environment" responsible for the unprecedented cyber loot which left the Pune-based bank poorer by Rs 94.42 crore.
In a statement here, the NPCI's Head Risk Management, Bharat Panchal, said: "The NPCI's systems are fully secure and this particular issue has occurred within the (Cosmos Bank's) own IT environment.
"This has happened due to malware-based attack on the bank's IT system which has caused a fraud. Under the attack, maximum transactions have been reported from outside India."
He reiterated that the systems of NCPI - the umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India - "were absolutely secure and it was continuously monitoring the situation arising out of the Cosmos Bank episode".
The Indian banking industry went in shudders on Tuesday after the Cosmos Bank admitted that it had fallen victim to an international group of hackers who siphoned off a total of Rs 94.24 crore in two cyber attacks on August 11 and August 13.
In the first cyber hit, the bank lost Rs 80.50 crore through multiple ATM swipes in 28 countries.
In the second malware assault, the hackers gobbled up Rs 13.92 crore by initiating SWIFT transfers.
Cosmos Bank Chairman Milind A. Kale said that after the malware attack on the critical communication system between various payment gateways was hacked, the hackers' gangs were informed simultaneously in 28 countries and they immediately started the withdrawals, in many cases small amounts of around $100, to avoid rousing suspicions.
He said normally, the Core Banking System (CBS) receives debit card payment requests via its 'Switching System'. But during the malware attack, a proxy switch was created and all the fraudulent payment approvals were passed through the proxy switching system.
Kale said the bank's own servers and other systems were inspected annually by the Reserve Bank of India Audit and System Audit and the bank was ensuring all the measures for data security and this security system was fully operational.
Banking experts and industry players fear this could be a 'pilot run' unless the authorities take it seriously.
Meanwhile, pending investigations, the country's second oldest and second largest cooperative bank (in terms of deposits and advances) has now shut all its ATMs across the country for two days till Thursday to prevent any further incidents.
The consolation was the Kale's assurance that none of the bank's 20 lakh customer accounts across 140 branches in the country have been affected nor would they bear any loss.
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CM, DCM mark 69th Kannada Rajyotsava with festive messages
DCM DK Shivakumar uses Instagram Kannada filter, nominates Speaker UT Khader to continue campaign
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar shared heartfelt messages on X in celebration of the 69th Kannada Rajyotsava, highlighting the importance of Karnataka’s heritage, language, and culture.
CM Siddaramaiah emphasised that Kannada Rajyotsava is a day for committing to the preservation and growth of Karnataka’s identity, encompassing its people, language, culture, land, and water. He wished all Kannadigas a happy Kannada Rajyotsava, expressing the hope that love and care for Kannada would become a daily celebration. “Best wishes to all Kannadigas on Kannada Rajyotsava. ‘Sirigannadam Gelge, Sirigannadam Balge,’” he shared.
ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ ಎಂದರೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಜನ, ಭಾಷೆ, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ, ನೆಲ, ಜಲ ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಒಳಗೊಂಡ ಕನ್ನಡತನವನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿ-ಬೆಳೆಸುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಸಮರ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕಾದ ದಿನ. ಕನ್ನಡದ ಬಗೆಗಿನ ಪ್ರೀತಿ - ಕಾಳಜಿ ಇಂದಿಗಷ್ಟೆ ಸೀಮಿತವಾಗದೆ, ನಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರ ಬದುಕಿನ ನಿತ್ಯೋತ್ಸವವಾಗಲಿ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 1, 2024
ಸಮಸ್ತ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರೆಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವದ… pic.twitter.com/bsy0Fm9y2M
DCM DK Shivakumar celebrated digitally by taking a selfie with the ‘Kannada Filter’ on Instagram, encouraging others to join in. He nominated Speaker U.T. Khader to continue this digital campaign, marking it as a small step to spread Kannada’s glory worldwide. “May the lamp of Kannada shine forever, lighting the way for everyone,” he added.
೬೯ನೇ ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವವನ್ನು ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಚರಿಸಲು ನಾನು ಇನ್ಸ್ಟಾಗ್ರಾಂನಲ್ಲಿ ʻಕನ್ನಡ ಫಿಲ್ಟರ್ʼ ಬಳಸಿ ಸೆಲ್ಫಿ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಸಭಾಪತಿಗಳಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ಯು.ಟಿ ಖಾದರ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ಈ ಅಭಿಯಾನವನ್ನು ಮುಂದುವರೆಸಲು ನಾಮಿನೇಟ್ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಕನ್ನಡದ ಗರಿಮೆಯನ್ನು ಜಗದಗಲ ಪಸರಿಸುವ ನಿಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೊಂದು ಪುಟ್ಟ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ.… pic.twitter.com/WsAYDK2d6K
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) November 1, 2024
