South African financial institutions are notoriously tight-lipped about any kind of security breaches, but Nedbank is the first of the country’s major banks to acknowledge this week’s Dexter malware attack and to issue a statement on it.
The malware is alleged to have been loaded on to the POS systems of numerous restaurant and fast-food franchises and reportedly has cost SA banks “tens of millions of rands”.
Nedbank’s statement on the matter is, as expected, brief and to the point. It reads as follows:
“Nedbank is aware of a data compromise at some of South Africa’s restaurant chains/franchises. The Payments Association of South Africa (PASA), in conjunction with member banks, has taken immediate steps to secure the relevant systems to prevent further leakage of card details.
“Nedbank can confirm that the number of incidents reported is limited and that where fraud losses have been reported, Nedbank Card clients have been refunded and reissued with new cards.
“Nedbank will continue to closely monitor all transactions acquired by third-party processors and Nedbank clients need not be concerned.
“We urge cardholders to contact Nedbank immediately should they be alerted to any suspicious transactions by phoning the Fraud Desk on 011 710-4710 or the Nedbank Contact Centre on 0860 555 111.”