KARACHI: One of Pakistan’s major payment gateways has refuted circulating social media reports suggesting that ATMs will be closed for two to three days due to a cyberattack.
1LINK Limited, a consortium of major banks operating the largest inter-bank network in the country, issued a statement clarifying that the rumors of a ransomware attack causing ATM closures are unfounded. The false information, shared widely on social media and WhatsApp, also warned against conducting online transactions during this supposed outage and claimed that BBC Radio had reported the incident.
BBC Urdu, the local branch of the British broadcaster, has debunked these claims, stating that its last transmission in Pakistan was on December 31, 2022, and that there have been no recent reports of a cyberattack on BBC.
In its statement released on Sunday, 1LINK assured the public that no cyber threats have been detected impacting the ATM and online banking systems. The company emphasized that the financial service industry remains vigilant and assured that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is collaborating with banks and 1LINK to safeguard the country’s financial infrastructure and digital payment systems, adhering to strict IT and security protocols.
