[BreachExchange] London-based Forex Company Suffers Cyber-Attack

Destry Winant destry at riskbasedsecurity.com
Fri Jan 3 10:06:55 EST 2020


https://www.cisomag.com/london-based-forex-company-suffers-cyber-attack/

London-based forex exchange company–Travelex, has been hit by a
cyber-attack on New Year’s Eve forcing the exchange to suspend all
online services and its official website immediately to limit the
damages.

Travelex, a major foreign currency exchange company provides online
foreign currency exchange as well as over the counter (OTC) exchange
services at various branches across the globe including major airports
and tourist destinations. It has operations spread in over 27
countries and has tie-ups with well-known banks such as Tesco Bank.

On its official Twitter handle – @TravelexUK, the company gave an
official statement about the malware attack (stated as “virus” in the
official statement), “Travelex confirms that a software virus was
discovered on New Year’s Eve which has compromised some of its
services.” Talking about the online services suspension and whether
any customer data was compromised, Travelex said, “As a precautionary
measure in order to protect data and prevent the spread of the virus,
we immediately took all our services offline. Our investigation to
date shows no indication that any personal or customer data has been
compromised.”

“We regret having to suspend some of our services in order to contain
the virus and protect data,” said Travelex chief executive Tony
D’Souza. “We apologize to all our customers for any inconvenience
caused as a result and are doing all we can to restore our full
services as soon as possible.”

Travelex said it had deployed “teams of IT specialists and external
cyber-security experts”, who have been “working continuously since New
Year’s Eve to isolate the virus and restore affected systems”.
Travelex assured that it will continue to provide manual foreign
currency exchange OTC services at all its branches until the problem
is fixed.

Travelex also offers certain online services for financial
institutions such like the Tesco Bank. The cyber-attack has also
affected these services. “Unfortunately, our on-line Travel Money
service is currently unavailable due to IT issues at our partner,
Travelex. In the meantime, you can still visit one of our in-store
bureaux to collect or purchase your currency. Sorry for any
inconvenience.”, said a tweet from Tesco Banks official Twitter handle
– @tescobankhelp.

Earlier, a survey report from Lloyds Bank pointed out that cybercrimes
have jumped to the fourth position from the eighth place since 2018.
Cybersecurity has emerged as a primary investment priority for
financial firms in the United Kingdom. The banks are increasing their
budget allocation to enhance cybersecurity capabilities at their
organization, Computer Business Review reported.

The research surveyed several senior business decision-makers from
financial organizations in the UK. According to the survey report, in
2018 over 46 percent of respondents stated their top three technology
investment agendas were to improve customer satisfaction, enhance
cybersecurity, and reduce operating costs. But, in 2019, investment on
cybersecurity products and services became the topmost agenda, with 70
percent respondents now focusing on it.


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