‘ATM, UPI service affected’: Ransomware attack on service provider hits 300 banks across India

NEW DELHI: A ransomware attack has forced the temporary shutdown of payment systems across nearly 300 small Indian local banks, according to reports. The customers of these banks have not been able to access payments services like withdrawing cash at ATMs or using UPI.
The ransomware attack affected C-Edge Technologies, a provider of banking technology systems to small banks across the country, reports said.
Other banking services are functioning normally, the officials told PTI.
In a statement released late in the evening, the national payments corporation of India (NPCI) said, “C-Edge Technologies….has been possibly impacted by a ransomware attack impacting a few of their systems,” leading to the temporary isolation of C-Edge from accessing NPCI-operated retail payment systems.
All online transactions, such as RTGS and UPI payments, affected
Dileep Sanghani, chairman of the national cooperative union of India, told news agency PTI that nearly 300 banks in India, including 17 district cooperative banks in Gujarat, which rely on C-Edge, have been facing issues for the past two to three days.
“All online transactions, such as RTGS and UPI payments, are affected. Money is deducted from the sender’s account but does not get credited in the receiver’s account,” Sanghani said.
“Customers of banks serviced by C-Edge will not be able to access payment systems during the period of isolation,” the NPCI told news agency Reuters.
The statement also mentioned that restoration work is being carried out rapidly in collaboration with C-Edge Technologies, and a mandatory security review is underway.
‘Breach discovered two days ago’
C-Edge, a joint venture between SBI and TCS, serves cooperative banks and regional rural banks, which have been affected by the breach. Officials stated that other banking services remained unaffected. To protect the broader payments system, necessary precautions, including isolating the C-Edge system, had to be implemented following the discovery of the breach two days ago.
An industry official told news agency PTI that a ransomware had been detected and isolated within the system, prompting a third-party audit.
The official told news agency PTI that the affected banks represent less than 1 percent of the total payment system volume in the country.
Despite the incident, no financial losses have been reported, news agency PTI said.