Offshore hackers stole 62 billion Ugandan shillings ($16.8 million) from Uganda’s central
bank, the state-owned New Vision newspaper reported on Thursday.
The hackers, identifying themselves as “Waste,” reportedly accessed the Bank of Uganda’s IT systems and illicitly transferred the funds earlier this month.
The hacking group based in Southeast Asia, sent part of the stolen money to Japan, New Vision said, citing unnamed sources at the bank.
Bank of Uganda did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the matter. The Ugandan police also did not respond to a request for comments.
New Vision said the central bank had successfully recovered over half of the money from the hackers. In response to the cyber attack, President Yoweri Museveni has ordered an
investigation, it said.
Separately Uganda’s biggest independent newspaper, Daily Monitor, reported that the theft may have involved collusion by insiders.
According to a report in the online Monitor, “security agencies are treating it as an ‘inside job’, that was the result of collusion between the Bank of Uganda, the Finance Ministry’s Treasury Department and the Accountant General’s Office.”
The paper quoting sources, said the narrowing down of the probe as an inside job, is also reinforced by the findings of an independent audit sanctioned by the Bank of Uganda’s senior management recently.
PMIdaily.com said the hacking incident has raised serious questions about the security measures in place.
“President Museveni instructed the Auditor General to investigate the matter,” it quoted a source as saying, “the Auditor General will establish the amount of money lost in the hacking and the police will follow up on where there is criminal liability.”
Cyber thefts from banks and other financial service providers, including telecom firms, have occurred many times in Uganda. However, police officials have said that some banks are hesitant to publicly acknowledge such incidents due to fears of alienating customers.
With Reuters inputs
