Ransomware Issue Affecting Small Banks May Get Resolved By Thursday

On Wednesday, following the ransomware attack on C-Edge Technologies, the National Payments Corporation of India isolated the company from retail payment systems. This meant that the technology company could not process any retail transactions.

C-Edge Technologies offers IT services to nearly 300 small cooperatives and regional rural banks. Customers of these banks were not able to make any transactions during the isolation. Currently, customers of banks availing of C-Edge Technologies' services are unable to access services like the Unified Payments Interface, National Electronic Fund Transfer, and Real-Time Gross Settlement.

The technology service provider's website has been inaccessible since yesterday. C-Edge is a joint venture between Tata Consultancy Services and the State Bank of India.

NPCI may have to call for a forensic audit of C-Edge; however, any decision in this matter is a few weeks away, according to the people quoted above. Typically, banking technology service providers have to undergo regular certification of their cybersecurity systems. These certifications attest to whether a system is meeting the necessary standards for cybersecurity.

In an interview with the Press Trust of India, Dileep Sanghani, chairman of the National Cooperative Union of India, said that lenders using C-Edge's technology platforms have been facing disruptions since July 29. The company had then called it a technical issue, Sanghani told PTI.