Earlier this week, the Bank of Uganda mentioned that it was awaiting a police investigation into a news report that offshore hackers stole USD 16.8 million from the central bank. Following this announcement, the state minister for finance confirmed the hack and said the police's Criminal Investigations Department and the Auditor General were probing the incident.
The officials also mentioned that the attack did not happen to the extent that was reported, and asked the House to be patient in the process of the audit to be finalised in order to avoid the misrepresentation of facts.
The hackers identified themselves as a group named `Waste` and accessed the Bank of Uganda's IT systems before illicitly transferring the funds. This process took place earlier in November 2024.
In addition, the hacking group is based in Southeast Asia, and it was reported that they sent part of the stolen money to the region of Japan. According to Reuters, the central bank already recovered over half of the money from the group successfully. At the same time, it was reported that the attack may have involved collusion by insiders as well.
Cyber thefts from banks and other financial service providers or financial institutions, including telecom firms, have occurred many times in the region of Uganda. However, police officials have said that some banks and FIs are hesitant to publicly acknowledge such incidents due to fears of alienating customers and clients.
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