ISLAMABAD: The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has suffered second setback at the hands of hackers in less than two months, putting a serious questions on security system of Pakistan’s largest state-owned bank with a network of 1600 branches across Pakistan.
This time hackers have attacked Auto Transaction Machines (ATMs) for deprieving the bank of the public money amounting to millions of rupee.
A reliable source confided to NEWSMAN that the hackers had
unlocked ATMs in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Pindi Bhattian and Sialkot. The hackers disconnected ATM from NCR software and took out bundles of 5000 currency notes from it. According to the source, the hackers used some device to paralyize NCR software and take money away in millions in each case. All incidents of hacking ATMs occurred in major cities at weekend nights. These incidents suggested that NBP has either very poor manned security at its branches or it has no manned security at majority of the branches at night.
The hackers, according to the source, siezed NCRs software which is run under a software of NCRs. NCR is an American company and its system operates ATMs in Pakistan. The hackers entered in a targetted ATMs and disconnected it from NCR main system with some device and looted money from them, the sources noted. These hackers opened-up top of NCR machine, hardware of ATM, and hacked for stealing money.
There are many questions to be answered by NBP management like why NBP is only target of the hackers? Does it suggest weak security system of Pakistan’s largest bank?. Why it did not put any system in place following a cyber attack on its system two months ago? Why the bank management is not reporting hackers attacks to the company that provided it the hardware and software of ATMs?.
Is NBP investigating security lapse to plug -off weaknesses in its system and finally how it will avoid more such hackers attacks on its ATMs or other systems in the future?.
NEWSMAN left a questionaire for Arif Usmani, president of the bank, Khurrum Hussain , senior vice president and spokesman of the bank and Karim Akram, another senior member of the bank, to respond on this highly sensitive matter to add the bank’s point of view to the story, but none responded despite repeated calls and whatsapp messages.
