The domain address of Nigeria’s banking giant, GTBank, remains inaccessible as suspected cybercriminals appeared to have compromised the financial institution’s domain address.
Checks by Peoples Gazette showed Wednesday night and Friday morning that gtbank.com was no longer accessible.
GTBank confirmed an attempt to compromise its website domain in a statement on Thursday.
The incident came a day after the domain name was renewed for another five years, from August 13, 2024, through March 21, 2029, according to multiple online platforms that analyse domain information.
No collective of hackers has claimed responsibility for the vandalism, which appeared to have started on August 14. A spokesman for GTBank did not immediately return a request seeking comments.
GTBank said the hacking attempt occurred on Wednesday, a day after the bank renewed its domain name, causing a temporary disruption to the website, which left customers unable to access online services. It allayed concerns about compromised customer data, noting that the bank did not store customer information on its website.
“Our attention has been drawn to reports in the media alleging that hackers have seized the bank’s website, cloned it, and intercepted customers data.
“This led to widespread concern and media reports suggesting that the bank’s website had been cloned, potentially putting customer data at risk. The incident was unsuccessful and its website was not cloned.
“While there was an isolated incident of an attempt to compromise our website domain, we would like to assure all our customers and stakeholders that the bank’s website has not been cloned and that we do not store customer information on our website,” the bank’s statement claimed.
It added, “As such, there has been no instance of compromise of customer data.
“We urge all our customers to please disregard the claims in these media reports and assure you of our unwavering commitment to safeguarding customer data.”
(NAN)