The US branch of the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China was hit by a ransomware attack, reportedly causing disruptions to the US government bond market.
ICBC 1398,
The world’s largest bank by assets announced Thursday that U.S.-based ICBC Financial Services on Wednesday “experienced a ransomware attack that resulted in disruption” of certain internal systems. The bank said the affected systems were immediately disconnected and isolated, and police were notified.
“We successfully settled the US Treasury transactions executed on Wednesday (11/08) and the repo financing transactions executed on Thursday (11/09),” ICBC said.
Bloomberg News reported that some U.S. Treasury bond trades could not be settled due to the disruption, and traders were asked to reroute their deals. Reuters also reported disruptions in the government bond market. Sources told the FT that the incident had some impact on liquidity, but the overall government bond market was not affected.
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association warned its members about the cyber attack on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported. A Treasury spokesperson told the FT it was aware of the incident and was monitoring the situation.
Also see: 30-year Treasury yields end for biggest one-day jump since June 2022 after poor auction
According to Bloomberg and Reuters, the cybercrime gang Lockbit is suspected of the attack. The same gang is suspected of cyber attacks against Boeing Co. B.A.,
earlier this week, ION Markets earlier this year, which disrupted some derivatives trading, and global consulting giant Accenture ACN,
in 2021.
ICBC said its headquarters were not affected, along with other domestic and foreign offices, including its New York branch.
Ransomware attacks, in which hackers gain control of an organization’s systems and hold them hostage for a fee, have exploded in recent years, targeting everything from school districts to casinos to the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
Read more: A stranger in your hotel room? Cat litter shortage? Online attacks cause real-world effects.