ISLAMABAD: In the wake of the cyberattack on the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), NBP President Arif Usmani apprised that the hackers could not succeed to enter the main computer server of the government bank.

The hackers had reportedly hacked Microsoft system of the NBP. Immediately following the incident, services of the bank across the country were halted, Bol news channel reported.

Arif Usmani said IT experts of the State Bank of Pakistan, NBP, Federal Board of Revenue and private companies were busy in restoring the bank’s computer system after disinfecting it.

“They are continuously working on the system and hopefully they would succeed by Monday morning. If the IT experts do not succeed by Monday, then the system would be isolated to carry on bank services,” he relayed.

In a tweet, the central bank stated that neither the state-owned bank nor any other bank had observed any data breach or financial loss. It said the incident of cyberattack was being investigated.

“NBP has reported a cyber security related incident which is being investigated. NBP has not observed any data breach or financial loss. No other bank has reported any such incidence. SBP is monitoring the situation closely to ensure safety and soundness of banking system,” the SBP tweeted.

NBP has reported a cyber security related incident which is being investigated. NBP has not observed any data breach or financial loss. No other bank has reported any such incidence. SBP is monitoring the situation closely to ensure safety and soundness of banking system.

— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) October 30, 2021

The incident has affected all the NBP services including mobile applications and branches.

Apprising about the situation, the NBP said: “In the late hours of the 29th and early morning of the 30th October, a cyber-attack on the NBP’s servers was detected which impacted some of its services.

“Immediate steps were taken to isolate the affected systems. At this point, no customer or financial data has been compromised. Remediation efforts are underway using industry-leading subject matter experts including international resources where ever required.

“While currently NBP’s services to its customers are disrupted, we are working to address the breach and confident that essential customer services will be restored by Monday morning, inshallah.”