HSBC online banking crashes following cyber attack
HSBC’s online banking systems were brought down by a cyber attack the banking firm has claimed it successfully defended agianst to ensure customers' transcations were not affected.
Despite the defence, many of the bank’s customers struggled to log in to its online and mobile services. Both aspects were recovered hours after they went offline, though HSBC admitted that it was still fighting off attempted attacks and would monitor the situation with the authorities.
No customer details had been compromised by the attack. However, many of those who were unable to access certain features vented their frustrations at the brand on Twitter.
A spokesman told the BBC: "HSBC internet banking came under a denial of service attack this morning, which affected personal banking websites in the UK," said a spokesman for the bank.
"HSBC has successfully defended against the attack, and customer transactions were not affected. We are working hard to restore services, and normal service is now being resumed. We apologise for any inconvenience this incident may have caused."
The bank has become the latest victim of a cyber attack that has also included TalkTalk, Ashley Madison and the Irish National Lottery in the last year. The spate of security breaches has consequently pushed data security further up the agenda of many chief executives, mindful that an inability to defend their customers’ personal details could irreversibly damage their brands and businesses.
For HSBC, it’s not the first time its customers haven’t been able to access its services. At the turn of the year some of the bank's products were suspended for two days after a “technical issue” with the its systems.