The MTN Group has said that the recent cybersecurity incident that resulted in unauthorised access to personal information of some of its customers in certain markets, did not affect its critical infrastructure.
In a statement, the company said “Our core network, billing systems and financial services infrastructure remain secure and fully operational.”
The telecoms giant said an unknown third-party had claimed to have accessed data linked to parts of it systems, but so far they don’t have any information to suggest that customers’ accounts and mobile money wallets have been directly compromised.
The company said it immediately activated its cybersecurity response processes including informing the Police and the Hawks in South Africa, where it is headquartered.
“We also informed the relevant country authorities and will continue to update them on an ongoing basis while working closely with them and law enforcement agencies in supporting their investigations,” the statement said.
Indeed, checks by Techfocus24 indicates that, in Ghana, the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Cybersecurity Authority (CSA) have been duly informed and they are both monitoring the situation.
Caution to Customers
MTN said they are also in the process of notifying affected customers in compliance with local legal and regulatory obligations.
As a reminder, customers are encouraged to remain vigilant and follow regular security measures, such as:
- To mitigate any fraudulent consequences, a fraud alert can be placed on an individual’s credit report at any of the major credit bureaus.
- Keep MTN, MoMo and banking apps and devices updated.
- Use strong, unique passwords for accounts and change them regularly.
- Be cautious of unexpected messages and do not click on suspicious links.
- Do not disclose information such as passwords, PINs and OTP when asked to do so by phone, text message or email.
- Where multifactor authentication is available, it should be activated.
“The privacy of information is our top priority and MTN remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of our systems and the trust placed in us by our customers and other stakeholders. We will continue to contain and manage this matter carefully,” MTN said.
