The Ugandan government has confirmed a cyber attack on the Central bank system noting that it is waiting for a full investigation by the Auditor General and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
Minister of State for Finance, Henry Musasizi, confirmed the hack but refuted claims that the amount stolen was $17 million.
The refutal comes as there are conflicting reports about the actual amount that was stolen in the hack. Local newspaper New Vision reported that the hack was done by a group based in South East Asia noting that they carted away $17 million.
However, the Daily Monitor reported that $13 million was stolen while the money had been transferred to accounts in Japan and the UK.
Ugandan newspaper New Horizons said the central bank had recovered more than half of the money from hackers. The statement said President Yoweri Museveni had ordered an investigation in response to the cyberattack.
Uganda’s largest independent newspaper, the Daily Observer, also reported that the heist may have been related to a conflict between insiders.
Uganda has repeatedly faced cases of cyber theft from banks and other financial service providers, including telecommunications companies. However, police said some banks were reluctant to go public because they feared foreign customers.
