(MENAFN) A financial services company affiliated with China's largest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Financial Services, has confirmed that a ransomware cyber attack was the cause behind the recent disruption in the US Treasury market. The attack impacted the handling of transactions and other services for financial institutions by the New York-based company. According to a statement on its website, parts of its systems were disabled due to the ransomware, prompting the company to disconnect affected segments to mitigate the attack's impact.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Financial Services is actively investigating the incident and has reported it to law enforcement. The company clarified that while some Treasury bond transactions were liquidated on Wednesday, repo financing operations were successfully settled on Thursday. Importantly, banking services, email, and other systems of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were not affected by the cyber attack.
Although the company did not provide intricate details about the ransomware attack, preliminary reports suggest that it was orchestrated by Lookbit, a Russian-speaking ransomware gang known for its efficiency. Notably, Lookbit has been active since September 2019 and has targeted thousands of organizations. The incident underscores the growing threat of ransomware attacks on critical financial infrastructure and highlights the need for enhanced cybersecurity measures to safeguard global financial systems.
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