translated article with transliterated names.Read original Chinese article here
<img src="https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/zaobao/33b133975362fe813ae438ed581a40a4c4a3ed9d7ec99a94fa2c6cfc32572ea5?f=webp&o=zbimg&oloc=se" alt="Three Malaysian banks experienced partial service disruptions on the same day, affecting interbank cash withdrawals, mobile apps and official websites, raising concerns about possible cyberattacks on their banking systems. （Illustrative image/Pixabay）” title=”Three Malaysian banks experienced partial service disruptions on the same day, affecting interbank cash withdrawals, mobile apps and official websites, raising concerns about possible cyberattacks on their banking systems. （Illustrative image/Pixabay）” loading=”lazy”>
Three Malaysian banks experienced partial service disruptions on the same day, affecting interbank cash withdrawals, mobile apps and official websites, raising concerns about possible cyberattacks on their banking systems. （Illustrative image/Pixabay）
Three banks in Malaysia have issued successive notices of service disruptions affecting interbank cash withdrawals, mobile apps and official websites, raising concerns about widespread banking system failures or even cyberattacks.
According to Nanyang Siang Pau, the three banks are Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), Bank Islam and Bank Rakyat. Each issued a notice on Friday (6 November) outlining its service issues, which left some customers unable to use the affected services as per normal.
BSN said high automated teller machine (ATM) transaction volumes could cause difficulties for customers making interbank withdrawals at other banks’ ATMs through the Malaysian Electronic Payment System (MEPS). It advised customers to use its own ATMs for withdrawals for the time being.
Bank Islam said the latest version of its mobile app had compatibility issues with Android 17 and urged customers not to update the app for now. Customers who had already updated it could carry out transactions through the bank’s official website.
Bank Rakyat’s official website was temporarily inaccessible, and the bank advised customers to use its other digital service platforms. It stressed that despite the website disruption, its banking systems and operations continued to function normally. Customers’ personal data, banking information and deposits remained safe and unaffected.
There is currently no evidence that the three banks suffered cyberattacks, and it remains unclear whether the service disruptions are linked. Technology website Lowyat.NET, citing sources, reported that Bank Rakyat was suspected to have suffered a cyberattack, but this has yet to be officially confirmed.
Separately, Sin Chew Daily reported that claims had also circulated online that Maybank and CIMB had been hacked. However, PayNet, which operates Malaysia’s interbank cash withdrawal network, clarified on Saturday (7 November) that the shared ATM network was functioning normally and had not experienced any widespread failure.
