Guaranty Trust Bank Ltd. (GTBank), one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, has responded to growing concerns after its website became inaccessible, prompting widespread speculation that hackers might have compromised the site.
The disruption, which began on Wednesday night, continued into Thursday, fueling anxieties among the bank’s millions of customers across Nigeria and other African countries.
The confusion started when customers attempted to access GTBank’s website, gtbank.com, only to find it unreachable. As the downtime extended, rumors began circulating that hackers had seized control of the bank’s web domain, cloned the site, and potentially intercepted customer data.
Some reports even suggested that a fake version of the website had been created to deceive customers and steal sensitive information, a common tactic in cybercrime known as phishing.
Speculation grew in the absence of any immediate official communication from GTBank. The bank’s social media channels, including its X.com handle @gtbank, remained silent, offering no updates or explanations for the website’s sudden unavailability.
However, the bank circulated a statement to customers through email.
This lack of information further fueled concerns, as customers took to social media to express their fears and frustrations.
Late Thursday, GTBank released a statement addressing the situation. The bank acknowledged that there had been an attempt to compromise its website domain but reassured customers and stakeholders that there was no breach of customer data.
However, GTBank clarified that it does not store customer information on its website, effectively dispelling fears that sensitive data had been exposed.
The statement said, “While there was an isolated incident of an attempt to compromise our website domain, we would like to assure all our Customers and Stakeholders that the Bank’s website has not been cloned and that we do not store customer information on our website, and as such, there has been no instance of compromise of customer data.
“Our dedicated team of Information Security Experts are currently working round the clock to restore domain settings, and we can assure our customers that our website will be up shortly. We urge all our Customers to please disregard the claims in these media reports and assure you of our unwavering commitment to safeguarding customer data.”
The bank urged customers to disregard the misleading reports circulating in the media and reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding customer data.
GTBank’s website outage comes at a time when cybersecurity threats are on the rise, particularly in the financial sector. Cybercriminals frequently target banks and other financial institutions, exploiting vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. Phishing, in particular, has become a common method used by hackers to deceive users into providing personal information, such as login credentials and financial details.
This incident also follows the recent renewal of GTBank’s domain name, which was extended for another five years starting from August 13, 2024, according to online domain trackers. While domain renewal is a routine process, it occasionally involves technical adjustments that can lead to temporary disruptions. However, the timing of the renewal, coupled with the prolonged downtime, led many to suspect that something more sinister was at play.
A cybersecurity expert familiar with the Nigerian banking sector suggested that the issue might have involved compromised login credentials rather than the actual theft or sale of the domain name. Despite the website’s inaccessibility, the expert noted that GTBank’s mobile banking apps, available on both Android and iOS platforms, continued to function normally, providing customers with an alternative means of accessing their accounts.
The website outage sparked significant concern among GTBank’s customers, many of whom rely heavily on the bank’s online services for their daily transactions. Social media platforms were flooded with comments from anxious customers who feared that their personal information might be at risk. The prolonged silence from the bank only added to the uncertainty, with some customers questioning the security of their accounts.
As of Thursday evening, no hacker group had claimed responsibility for the disruption, leaving many questions unanswered. The lack of a clear cause for the website’s unavailability has led to widespread speculation, with some observers wondering whether the incident was the result of a targeted cyberattack or a more benign technical issue.
This incident highlights the growing threat of cybercrime in Nigeria’s financial sector. With banks increasingly relying on digital platforms to deliver services to customers, the risk of cyberattacks has never been higher. Financial institutions must constantly update their security measures to protect against evolving threats, and customers must remain vigilant to avoid falling victim to phishing schemes and other forms of cyber fraud.