No hack behind HSBC banking outage, as HKMA rules out cyberattack
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HSBC’s widespread system outage on Friday was caused by an internal computer failure rather than a cyberattack, according to the head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
“HSBC informed the HKMA immediately after identifying problems with its online banking services,” said Eddie Yue Wai-man, chief executive of the HKMA, at a media briefing on Monday following a Legislative Council meeting. “Fortunately, the issue was resolved within a few hours and all banking services have since resumed.”
Yue said the bank’s initial assessment found that the disruption stemmed from internal system problems and was not the result of any external hacking attempt.
The HKMA had instructed HSBC to conduct a comprehensive review to identify the cause of the failure and to put in place measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, he added.
Customers told the South China Morning Post that they were unable to access the bank’s mobile app and online services from as early as 1pm, while some branches were also unable to provide services.
Services at the Mong Kok branch resumed at 3.08pm, although online banking remained suspended. HSBC said at around 6pm that all online and mobile banking services had returned to normal.