The State bank of Pakistan (SBP) has ‘categorically’ rejected the reports circulating in the mainstream media that the data of most banks had been hacked.
In a clarification statement on Tuesday, the SBP said, “There is no evidence to this effect nor has this information been provided to SBP by any bank or law enforcement agency.”
According to the central bank, with the exception of BankIslami, no breach has been reported.
In a comment on the temporary suspension of the international transaction by the number of banks, the SBP said, “All these temporary restrictions would be lifted once appropriate IT security measures are in place. It is stressed, that all restrictions pertain only to cross-border transactions, and no bank has instituted any restriction on domestic transactions.”
The central bank has already instructed all banks to take steps to identify and counter any cyber threat to their systems in coordination with international payment schemes. Representatives of payment schemes have also assured that all steps are being taken to help banks in identifying any cyber threat on card systems and have offered additional controls to them.
SBP is engaged with the international payment schemes, payment operators and banks to monitor the current situation in order to ensure the security of the banking system.
