Over 300 cooperative and regional banks in India faced a ransomware attack, resulting in a shutdown of their online banking services. The news was first reported by Reuters. The attack happened on C-Edge Technologies, the primary service provider for most regional banks in the country. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has suspended the company’s online services to prevent any further infiltration to other banks in India. Here are the details.
Ransomware Attack on C-Edge Technologies Takes 300 Indian Banks Offline
Mumbai-based C-Edge Technologies offers online banking infrastructure for most regional cooperative banks in India, most of which are in rural areas. The company helps banks offer services like NEFT, RTGS, online money transfers, and other important online operations.
On July 31, C-Edge Technologies faced a massive ransomware attack. This resulted in a slowdown of online banking services for over 300 banks nationwide. The company quickly shut down its servers, resulting in downtime for the affected banks. As a result, customers of these banks could no longer initiate UPI payments, bank transfers, and even simple tasks like checking their bank balances.
The NPCI quickly intervened in the situation by temporarily isolating C-Edge Technologies from the retail payments ecosystem in India. Hence, regional banks that had previously not been affected by the ransomware attack also started facing downtime. The NPCI says it is working to resolve the problem as early as possible.
Regarding interruption in retail payments pic.twitter.com/Ve32ac7WpQ
— NPCI (@NPCI_NPCI) July 31, 2024
C-Edge Technologies is a joint venture between Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and the State Bank of India. It’s a reputed service provider approved and regulated by the NPCI, RBI, and other government bodies. However, the isolation of C-Edge technologies from India’s core retail payments infrastructure was necessary to prevent any further impact on other banks in the country.
What is a Ransomware Attack?
A ransomware attack occurs when a group of hackers targets a company and installs malware on its main software. This prevents the company from accessing its own systems. The hackers then demand a ransom to unlock the system; otherwise, those systems remain locked and inaccessible to the company.
C-Edge Technologies has not disclosed the exact details of the ransomware attack. As of now, the affected banks continue to remain offline.
It is important to note that this attack only affected the country’s regional banks. Major banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, and other similar giants are unaffected.
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