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

Iran's state-owned banking technology provider reported cyberattacks disrupting card-based services at three major banks, prompting a temporary suspension of operations to prevent further unauthorized access.

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

This prompted a temporary suspension of all card-related operations at the three banks to prevent further unauthorized access, the Informatics Services Corporation ‌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.

Disruptions were also reported on June ⁠14 at ​major banks including ⁠Melli, Saderat, Tejarat and the Export Development Bank of Iran after a cyberattack ⁠targeting a shared communication system, Iran's Banking Coordination Council has said. Iranian state media ​cited the central bank as saying on Tuesday that the ⁠latest problems should be resolved by Wednesday morning and all services would then ⁠return ​to normal.

Officials have said the earlier incident, which took several days to resolve, according to Iranian media, did not ⁠compromise customer data. Iran has not said who it suspects of the cyberattacks. Authorities ⁠have ⁠previously blamed hostile foreign actors such as Israel for similar incidents. Israel has not commented on these allegations.