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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Horror at Mysuru Dasara: 10-year-old balloon seller found dead; rape, murder suspected
Mysuru: A horrifying incident has shaken Mysuru during the ongoing Dasara festivities, after the body of a minor girl who sold balloons at the Dasara Exhibition was found on the exhibition grounds on Thursday morning. Police and locals suspect the child may have been raped and murdered.
The victim, believed to be around nine to ten years old, was a native of Kalaburagi. She had been living with her parents in a temporary tent at Doddakere Maidan and earned her livelihood by selling balloons to visitors at the fair.
According to police sources, the girl had accompanied her parents to the ‘Theppotsava’ at the Sri Chamundeshwari Temple on Chamundi Hills on Wednesday night. After returning, she reportedly slept beside her mother in the tent. The next morning, she was found missing.
A brief search by her family ended in tragedy when her body was discovered near a mound of mud, about 50 metres away from the tent. Police officers at the scene said the circumstances indicate the possibility of sexual assault followed by murder.
A police team, along with a dog squad and forensic experts, visited the spot and began collecting evidence.
