Central bank shuts its website over a cyber threat, and seven banks pull online services

Central bank shuts its website over a cyber threat, and seven banks pull online services

Nepal Rastra Bank temporarily closed its website and other services on Friday, citing a possible cybersecurity threat, Clickmandu and OnlineKhabar reported. It said essential information would go out on its official social media accounts.

The central bank told banks, financial institutions, payment system operators, payment service providers and remittance companies to tighten security and step up monitoring, Clickmandu reported. Seven banks closed their websites or some online services, going by the notices Bizshala counted: Global IME, Machhapuchchhre, Nabil, NIC Asia, Nepal Investment Mega, Prime Commercial and Siddhartha. What each shut differed. Prime closed five online portals, while Nabil said its GenAlpha app was affected.

The closures followed two serious flaws found in PHP, a programming language that runs many websites, though not every bank notice names it. Fixes were released on October 21, Merolagani reported. Government websites had already gone offline on Thursday, OnlineKhabar reported then.

The central bank's spokesperson said the sites were closed as a precaution, and that a site being offline does not mean it was hacked, Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post reported. OnlineKhabar quoted the bank as saying people's money and information are safe. QR payments and mobile banking kept working, Nepal Bankers' Association president Santosh Koirala told the Post. Some banks had their websites back by Friday. The Employees Provident Fund and the Social Security Fund also took their sites down.

Why it matters: No report gives a date for the central bank's website to come back, or a count of affected banks beyond the seven Bizshala documented. Other outlets say only that most banks issued similar notices.

Lumbini police revenue from customs-evading goods rises 56 percent, Kantipur reports

Lumbini Province Police collected Rs 575.5 million in customs revenue from goods that evaded customs in FY 2082/83, up from Rs 368.2 million in 2081/82, Kantipur reported. That is a rise of 56.3 percent.

Figures for Madhesh Province in the same report run the other way for cloth. Textiles seized were worth Rs 865.7 million in 2080/81, Rs 519 million in 2081/82 and Rs 102.1 million in 2082/83. Seized vehicles and parts went from Rs 297.8 million to Rs 420.8 million and then Rs 750.8 million.

Kanchanpur customs collected Rs 104.5 million in the first two months of this fiscal year against a target of Rs 105.7 million, the paper said.

Why it matters: Lumbini's figure is revenue and Madhesh's are values of goods seized, so the two cannot be added. Seizures measure enforcement as much as the flow of goods, and the report does not say which districts each figure covers.

Chitwan hoteliers give mixed accounts of Dashain bookings

Sauraha hoteliers said domestic Dashain guests were fewer than usual, The Kathmandu Post reported; one hotel had 7 of 75 rooms booked on Thursday. Others told OnlineKhabar occupancy passed 80 percent after the tika.

772 foreign trekkers cross Thorong La into Mustang in two weeks, ACAP checkpoint says

The Annapurna Conservation Area Project's Jomsom checkpoint recorded 772 foreign tourists crossing Thorong La from Manang into Mustang in the past two weeks, 43 of them from SAARC countries, OnlineKhabar reported.