Tesco Bank freezes online accounts

 

The BBC is reporting that Tesco Bank suffered a huge cyber attack at the weekend estimated to have affected 40,000 customer accounts with 20,000 of those having lost money. Tesco Bank reassured customers that they will be refunded any losses, however this is likely to have a significant impact on the Tesco Bank reputation with customers losing confidence in the brand.

At this stage it is only speculation as to the cause of the breach and range from malware in customer emails to a website hack or third party vulnerability.  It is too early to identify the cause.

About 40,000 accounts saw suspicious transactions over the weekend, of which half had money taken, he said.

Customers will still be able to use their cards for cash withdrawals, chip and pin payments, and bill payments.

The bank is blocking customers from making online payments using their debit card, although transfers between accounts and to other people are still allowed, a spokesperson said.

Earlier, the bank confirmed some accounts “have been subject to online criminal activity, in some cases resulting in money being withdrawn fraudulently”.

Professor Alan Woodward, a security consultant said:

“I’ve not heard of an attack of this nature and scale on a UK bank where it appears that the bank’s central system is the target,”

The BBC further reported:

All Tesco Bank will say is that it has been the victim of “online criminal activity” so we have little detail on the nature of the attack.

But what is different is that it involves tens of thousands falling victim in a 24 hour period to what appears to be an automated process, rather than individuals clicking on links in phishing emails or having their details stolen after downloading malicious software.

That could involve the attackers exploiting a vulnerability in the bank’s website – or even gaining physical access to a branch and then the central systems.

Whatever has happened, the damage to trust in Tesco Bank and online banking in general will be greater than the financial cost.

Read more at Tesco Bank: 20,000 customers lose money

 

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