Three years ago, the Central Bank of Zambia sensitized financial actors against cybersecurity threats. This time, it announces an incident, which partially disrupted some of its IT applications on Monday, May 9. 

Bank of Zambia (BoZ) issued, Saturday (May 13), a release alerting financial market players of a “suspected cybersecurity incident,” which partially disrupted its activities. 

In the release signed by the assistant director of communications Besnat Mwanza, the apps disrupted included  the “Bureau de Change Monitoring system and the website.”

In May 2019, during a cybersecurity workshop, BoZ briefed financial market players on the tools needed to address cybersecurity threats and embed cybersecurity into their daily operations and strategic plans. It also suggested financial institutions should collaborate and share information to mitigate cybersecurity threats in the sector that is the prime target of attacks since it deals with large sums. 

This time, although it informs that the affected systems have been restored, the central bank urges players to remain vigilant as the incident may not be an isolated case. 

Several key questions were not answered by the release. For instance, it failed to indicate the financial costs of the damage sustained and the amount disbursed to restore the affected systems. It also failed to mention the measures taken or about to be taken to prevent similar incidents. 

Chamberline MOKO