GTBank Website Issues Linked to Domain Problems

Guaranty Trust Bank, popularly known as GTBank, recently had its website offline for a couple of days, leading many to speculate about a possible cybersecurity attack. However, reports from insiders later clarified that the downtime was due to domain name system (DNS) configuration issues.

Four sources familiar with the situation told TechCabal that GTBank encountered problems with its domain name registration. It appears that the bank may have forgotten to renew its domain name, which allowed others to potentially buy it.

A Chief Technology Officer at a major Nigerian fintech explained, ‘They had issues with their domain name registration, and they had to make some changes or move it to a different domain name service.’ This hints that GTBank might have overlooked some important administrative tasks.

Some web developers mentioned that if GTBank still owns their website name, they can potentially retrieve it by reporting the issue to their domain host, but this process could take some time.

Domain name lapses are not unheard of in the tech world. In 2015, even Google forgot to renew its own domain for a brief period, and it was snatched up by a former employee. Microsoft also faced a similar issue with Hotmail in 2003.

To complicate matters, at one point, some GTBank customers could access the website, while others couldn’t. This could have been due to the time it takes for DNS changes to propagate across different servers.

On Thursday, GTBank released a statement addressing media reports that suggested their website had been hacked and cloned. They confirmed there had been an attempt to compromise the website but confidently stated that their customer data was safe.

GTBank assured customers that the website had not been cloned and emphasized that they do not store customer data directly on the site. They have a team of information security experts working to fix the domain settings.

In the wake of the incident, many social media users raised alarms about potential breaches. Users expressed their worries about the safety of their personal information, and screenshots of the supposedly compromised website circulated online.

One Twitter user mentioned that the issues seemed to have started on the night of August 14, 2024, shortly after the bank renewed its domain for five years. Concerns about a phishing attack emerged, with experts suggesting that hackers may have tried to intercept user data.

Interestingly, while the website faced challenges, GTBank’s mobile apps continued to function properly. This incident has left many wondering how the bank could overlook such an important aspect of their online security.