VTB customers experiencing problems with service, bank declares major DDoS attack

MOSCOW. Dec 6 (Interfax) - The technological infrastructure of VTB is under cyberattack from abroad, and the bank calls it the largest one in the history of its operations.

"While countering the actions of hackers attacking the outer contour of the bank's systems, specialists are doing everything necessary and possible so that customers do not experience inconvenience in using the services. However, when implementing the countermeasures, temporary complications in the operating performance of banking apps and the web version of VTB Online are periodically possible. We apologize for the situation and hope for your understanding," the bank said in a statement.

An analysis of the DDoS attack indicates that it was planned and large-scale, and its purpose has been to interfere with the operations of banking services, VTB indicates. The majority of requests for bank services during the attack have generated from foreign segments of the internet, though there has also been malicious traffic from Russian IP addresses. VTB does not rule out that some of these Russian addresses could be among the participants in the attack resulting from cyber fraud.

All established Russian IP addresses are to be transferred to law enforcement agencies for verification.

VTB indicates that the bank's systems are operating normally. Customer data are protected from external interference, and data are located within the inner perimeter of the bank's technological infrastructure.