Seychelles Commercial Bank announced on Friday that it had recently detected and contained a cybersecurity breach.
A hacker has claimed responsibility for stealing and selling personal information belonging to clients of Seychelles Commercial Bank. The bank, which offers both personal and corporate banking services in Seychelles, one of the world’s smallest nations, confirmed the breach to its customers, clarifying that only personal data was compromised and that no financial loss occurred.
In its public statement, the bank said it had “recently identified and contained a cybersecurity incident, which has resulted in its internet banking services being temporarily suspended,” and advised customers to “make use of our ATMs or visit one of our branches during normal banking hours.”
In the breach notification sent to customers, the bank stated, “SCB regrets to inform that this cyber incident resulted in unintentional exposure of personal information of internet banking customers only. The bank reassures all its internet banking customers that no funds have been accessed.”
Cybersecurity experts from Resecurity, a firm based in Los Angeles, analyzed a sample of the stolen data provided by the attacker. Their review indicated that the data includes customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, account types, and account balances. Some accounts were labeled as “current accounts – government.”
According to reporting by OCCRP, the Central Bank of Seychelles confirmed via email that it had received formal notification from Seychelles Commercial Bank regarding the cybersecurity breach.
The incident may draw increased attention due to Seychelles' banking regulations and approach to tax liabilities. The jurisdiction currently ranks 45th on the Corporate Tax Haven Index, a list compiled by the Tax Justice Network that identifies the world’s major enablers of global corporate tax abuse.
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