Swedbank operations interrupted yesterday, but hacking ruled out

Take note – story published 5 years ago

On March 7 Swedbank services went out of order, as it was impossible to withdraw money from Swedbank ATMs, internet banking went down, and it was impossible to pay by card at points of sale.

The problems, which started at about half past five p.m., were solved within an hour or so, but not without businesses and individuals seeing losses due to service interruptions. 

In addition, the bank's customer service experienced problems as well, and it was likely impossible to contact the bank, Swedbank representative Jānis Krops told Latvian Radio.

Latvia's finance watchdog, the Financial and Capital Markets Commission (FKTK) said that the bank had promptly resumed operations and that it was not related to an external attack. "As the watchdog, we're in contact with the bank and are following the situation. The Cert.lv [cyber defense unit] is also cooperating. The bank is informing its clients across all channels," the FKTK said.

Swedbank said that service interruptions from 4.33 p.m. to 5.37 p.m. were related to a system update that had taken place the night before.

Krops said that it was an extremely uncommon occurrence, the likes of which hasn't been seen for several years now. There is no cause to worry that it might happen again, he said.

Swedbank is the largest bank in Latvia by assets. 

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