Russian VTB Bank says it was the victim of a cyber-attack
According to the press service of a Russian banking group, their websites have been the victim of a cyber-attack, as reported by Interfax. "A DDoS attack was carried out against the VTB Group’s internet sites. The IT infrastructure is working as normal and the bank’s clients are not experiencing any difficulties," a VTB representative noted.
The press service confirmed they have not seen a trend in active cash withdrawals or terminations of deposit agreements on Friday and through the weekend. The VTB bank offices are all operating as usual.
On 2 December, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation reported that the largest banks in dozens of Russian cities would be targets for large cyber-attacks beginning on 5 December. The Security Service noted that the attacks were prepared by foreign special services, and that the server capacities and command centers for their execution were located in the Netherlands and belong to a Ukrainian hosting company, BlazingFast.
According to the Russian special services, the cyber-attack would be accompanied by a mass distribution of incendiary messages and false information on social networks about bankruptcy and bank license revocations and a financial and credit crisis.
On Sunday, Genbank, 50% of which is owned by Russian authorities in the Crimea and Sevastopol, announced that it will temporarily disable ATMs to prepare for the cyber-attack on the Russian banking system, with the aim of “preventing unauthorized transactions and losses of client funds." On Monday, Genbank resumed the functionality of their ATMs.