Tesco Bank Hacked! 40000 Customers Impacted – Online Banking Halted for Now!

The UK bank, Tesco seemingly got hacked, and customer money transacted fraudulently. As per the initial reports, it was an online criminal activity, and various amounts of funds transferred from Tesco customer accounts. Chief Executive Benny Higgins apologized to his clients of the chaotic situation and stressed that his bank is taking all the steps to protect the firm and its customers. He has guaranteed that all those who lost money from their accounts will be compensated as soon as possible. As an immediate incident response activity, Tesco has suspended all the Online banking activity till a pretty clear picture about the hacking is in hand, and also to reduce the impact of further criminal activities. At the same time, the customers can still use their cards for cash withdrawal and all other existing bill payments including direct debits. The impact was on approximately 40000 accounts of Tesco’s seven million accounts, although the company did not use the word hacking to describe this particular incident. A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office said: “we are aware of this incident and are looking into the details. Respective laws require organizations to have appropriate measures in place to keep people’s personal data secure. Where there’s suggestion that hasn’t happened, the ICO can investigate and enforce if necessary. The Tesco shares crashed by 1.2% in early trading, after news came out. One customer tweeted that his current account balance had dropped by 700 Pounds without him initiating any transaction. Another tweeted that “We have been hacked, all money was gone, no email or text FCA is also monitoring the situation. National Crime Agency is also involved in the investigation, and the spokesman confirmed that the NCA is leading and cooperating with Tesco, but stressed that there is no set formula for dealing with cyber attacks, which tend to vary with every  attack. Tory MP Chris Philip, doubting that the Tesco attack could be from a foreign power since according to him the incident looks like a very well planned attack by a well-equipped organization. Tesco Bank is a British retail bank that was formed in 1997, which has been wholly owned by Tesco plc since 2008. The bank is a joint venture of Royal Bank of Scotland and Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket.