Both the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and the National Bank of Fujairah experienced website outages, which have been blamed on the mysterious Team Bangladesh.
The website for Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank reportedly went down at roughly 11 p.m. UAE time on May 24th, according to threat intelligence provider Falcon Feeds. The National Bank of Fujairah website was reportedly down at the same time as a tweet from the Mysterious Team Bangladesh handle.
On May 24th, Falcon Feeds disseminated a post from the Mysterious Team Bangladesh on Telegram that warned of an impending cyber attack on the banking sector in the United Arab Emirates.
The Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and the National Bank of Fujairah both had their websites hacked into, according to a tweet posted by the Mysterious Team Bangladesh shortly after.
The Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank was functioning at the time of the Cyber Express’s original reporting. At the time this piece went to press, the National Bank of Fujairah’s previously down website was operational.
The Cyber Express has contacted the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and the National Bank of Fujairah for an official reaction or comment in an effort to learn more and confirm the legitimacy of this attack. The National Bank of Fujairah’s public relations officer declined to comment.
There has been no official confirmation or denial from any bank as of this writing. The claim of a cyber attack on First Abu Dhabi Bank remains unverified.
Attacks on UAE and Abu Dhabi banks via cyberspace continue to mount.
The banks in the United Arab Emirates have been targeted by hackers before. First Abu Dhabi Bank, RAKBANK, and Mashreq Bank were among the United Arab Emirates banks that Anonymous Sudan previously attacked.
These banks allegedly suffered attacks by the organisation, most notably distributed denial of service attacks.
Repeated cyber attacks on banks in the United Arab Emirates are a cause for alarm about the state of cybersecurity in the Middle East. It is crucial to fortify defences against these morphing threats as the financial sector grows more reliant on digital infrastructure to provide seamless services to customers.
Attacks on First Abu Dhabi Bank and similar incidents show that no company is safe from cybercrime.
In addition, the United Arab Emirates has developed into a haven for cybercriminals; the country is subject to an average of 50,000 attacks every day.
According to Mohammed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, the Government of the UAE’s Cyber Security Head, “50,000 cyberattacks per day” are successfully thwarted by the UAE Cyber Security Council in coordination with its partners, with a focus on important national sectors, as reported by Gulf News.
Is there easy pickings in the UAE banking industry?
According to a survey conducted by Arabian Business magazine, an astounding eighty percent (80%) of UAE businesses have been the target of email phishing assaults.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has seen an increase in phishing attacks and other forms of cybercrime. A recent survey found that an alarming 86% of businesses experienced at least one successful attack, with 44% of those businesses suffering direct financial losses as a result.
As a result, more people are quitting their jobs or changing careers than ever before. This current market trend has made it difficult for businesses to protect private information. More than 72% of companies have experienced data loss as a direct result of insider acts, which is shocking.
Proofpoint Inc. has released its eighth annual State of the Phis report, which details the methods hackers use to penetrate businesses. While hackers stick to tried-and-true techniques like email compromise, brand impersonation, and ransomware.
But now they use more sophisticated, less publicised methods of attack to penetrate multinational corporations.
The report highlights the fact that in a 12-month period, over 18 million users reported receiving strange emails, and 135 million simulated phishing attacks. These numbers demonstrate how serious the cyber threat scenario is and how quickly we must act to strengthen our defences.
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