Iran says card-based banking hit by cyberattack on three lenders

This had prompted a temporary suspension of all card-related operations at the three ​banks to prevent further unauthorised access, the ​company told state TV, with cybersecurity ⁠teams working to restore normal operations.

Iran’s state-owned banking technology provider said on Tuesday that cyberattacks disrupted card-based ​banking services at Bank Melli, Bank ‌Saderat and Bank Tejarat.

This had prompted a temporary suspension of all card-related operations at the three ​banks to prevent further unauthorised access, the ​company told state TV, with cybersecurity ⁠teams working to restore normal operations.

The company’s ​public relations head said ATM services, point-of-sale terminals ​and mobile applications linked to card systems were all affected.

Major banks, including Melli, Saderat, Tejarat and the ​Export Development Bank of Iran, have faced ​disruptions first reported on June 14 after a cyberattack ‌targeting ⁠a shared communication infrastructure, Iran’s banking coordination council has said.

Iranian state media said those took several days to resolve.

Officials have said the ​earlier incident, ​which Iranian ⁠media reported took several days to resolve, did not compromise customer ​data. There has been no official ​statement ⁠on who Iran thinks was behind the recent cyberattacks.

Iranian authorities have previously blamed hostile ⁠foreign ​actors such as Israel for ​similar incidents. Israel has previously not commented on such ​allegations.

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