Cyber attack has paralysed digital operations in cooperative banks, claims Gujarat Congress

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee claimed on Wednesday that a massive cyber attack has paralysed digital operations in the state’s cooperative banking sector, affecting transactions worth over Rs 5,000 crore.

Party spokesperson Hemang Raval claimed that the digital services in the Gujarat State Cooperative Bank, 13 district banks, and approximately 150 urban banks have been disrupted for the past three days.

Raval highlighted that all digital transactions, including NEFT, RTGS, UPI, PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm, have been “non-functional for the last 72 hours due to the cyber attack”. He criticized the bank authorities for not explaining and leaving customers in the dark about the extent of the breach and the measures being taken.

Despite the substantial investment in cyber security systems and servers, which was reported to be three times the usual cost, the Congress spokesperson raised concerns about the “subcontracted software company’s ties to relatives of influential figures associated with the banks”. Raval urged the “authorities to investigate this connection and hold the responsible parties accountable to restore customer trust”.

He called on the “Gujarat government to assure account holders that their funds are secure and to take swift action to restore normalcy.” Given the severity of the situation, Raval also emphasized the need for immediate intervention by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India.

Customers have reportedly lodged numerous complaints but have not received satisfactory responses from the banks. Raval stressed that the “government and relevant financial authorities must resolve the crisis and ensure the safety and security of the affected account holders’ funds”.

–IANS