The bank did not respond to requests for comment
Opeyemi Olamilekan
Suspected hackers appeared to have compromised the domain address of Nigeria’s banking giant GTBank.
The bank’s website, gtbank.com was no longer accessible as of Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, the domain name had been renewed for another five years from August 13, 2024, through March 21, 2029, according to multiple online platforms that analyse domain information.
No collective of hackers has claimed responsibility for the vandalism, which appeared to have started on August 14. A spokesman for GTBank did not immediately return a request seeking comments.
Already, the attackers appeared to have created another HTTP layer of the website in an apparent ploy to steal customers’ data through phishing.
A cybersecurity expert with experience in the Nigerian banking industry told local news, Peoples Gazette that it was possible that the bank’s login details were compromised, as against the domain address itself being stolen for a resale at a more lucrative deal online.
GTBank’s customers are already expressing their frustration about the incident, with many commenting on social media platform X that they couldn’t open the website to conduct transactions.
Some of the bank’s representatives on X urged customers to be patient and send their requests to a designated channel.
GTBank is one of Nigeria’s largest banks, serving millions of customers in Nigeria and other African countries.