Citigroup (NYSE:C) denied a report from the Wall Street Journal which stated they have been the victim of a cyber crime from Russian hackers, which resulted in the of millions of dollars for the company.
Responding to the reports, the giant banks said this in a statement:
“We had no breach of the system and there were no losses, no customer losses, no bank losses. Any allegation that the FBI is working a case at Citigroup involving tens of millions of losses is just not true.”
Unfortunately for Citigroup, just having the story out there has created a lot of doubts, and for them, their flat denials need to be true, or it could create even a bigger backlash against them for covering it up.
While the government hasn’t confirmed the possible cyber crime against Citigroup, it has been a growing concern across the world, as hacker attacks on everything from the financial industry to electric grids have become commonplace.
With almost everything tied into computer networks today, cyber criminals pose a realy threat to public safety and business operations, and in reference to banks, it’s a must that they are able to protect their clients’ money, and minimally to pay it all back if there are attacks on accounts.
Small businesses especially have been vulnerable to these types of attacks because they aren’t always discovered right away, and some banks won’t always give all the losses back if it isn’t reported in a timely manner, so they can protect the account better after being made aware of the situation. Even in some of the best-case scenarios it may take months to resolve, and many small businesses can’t afford to operate with the loss of what are significant capital to them.
If consumers and businesses don’t feel confident a bank or financial institution can protect them, the obvious consequence will be to do business with someone they feel can do the job better. Assuming Citigroup didn’t get hacked, this is why they’re fighting to stop the rumor before it gets any legs.
