Investigation shows no hack at Fawry: E-payment giant Fawry said on Friday that a “comprehensive examination” of the company’s systems by the cybersecurity firm Group-IB showed no evidence its systems were breached. The company made the statement after rumors circulated on social media on Thursday that the platform had been subject to a cyberattack. “The results of the systems check confirmed that there have been no breach or leaks of any information or banking details of any of the … clients,” Fawry said in a statement (pdf).

Rumors of a hack on Thursday: Speculation that the e-payments giant had been hacked spread on social media on Thursday after cybersecurity monitors (here and here) claimed that ransomware group LockBit had made Fawry a new target. One reported that LockBit gave Fawry a 28 November deadline to meet ransom demands or it would leak hacked data on the dark web. Fuelling the flames was a screenshot of what purported to be an internal memo at an Egyptian financial institution that warned it had blocked access to the app after a breach. The authenticity of the screenshot is unproven and the cybersecurity organization released no information to back up its claim.

Fawry blames app crash: Fawry said its MyFawry services were temporarily unavailable as “a result of unprecedented customer demand exceeding the application’s capacity.” The company reassured its clients that its services are “entirely safe” to use and that no financial data had been compromised. Fawry also rebuffed the cyberattack rumors in an EGX disclosure (pdf) on Thursday, saying that the tests it ran showed no sign of breach.

CBE investigation reportedly confirms Fawry’s findings: The regulator launched an investigation that showed that no leaks occurred at Fawry, an anonymous CBE official told Asharq Business, adding that Fawry will restart its application and smart wallet services on Sunday. There has been no official statement from the CBE to confirm the information.

Founder reassures clients: “Our systems could have been attacked and we are investigating the matter … but what is certain after reviewing the systems is that no data were hacked or withdrawn,” CEO and founder of Fawry Ashraf Sabry told Asharq Business. He also downplayed the need for customers to delete their card data or the MyFawry app.

AAIB walks back attack warning: AAIB issued an alert stating that “no cyberattacks or exposing of personal identifiable information of Fawry customers has been confirmed,” reported Business Today Egypt.

LockBit hits world’s largest bank, Boeing:Bloomberg reported Thursday that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China — the world’s largest bank — was hit with a cyberattack thought to be committed by LockBit. The cybercrime gang also published internal data belonging to Boeing on Friday after the US defense giant refused to pay ransom in response to a hack in October, according to Reuters.

Market reax:The rumors triggered a selloff of Fawry shares Thursday, which lost 4.6% during the session.

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