Cyber attacks on Turkish banks, transactions hit

Turkish banks reported sporadic disruption to credit card transactions on Friday as hackers stepped up a two-week barrage of cyber attacks, believed to bethe worst the country has seen.

Local media have suggested that the bombardment of public and financial websites could be coming from Russia, after a sharp worsening of tensions between Moscow and Ankara, or staged by hacking group Anonymous. But no clear evidence has emerged,and authorities have avoided pointing the finger.

Officials at several Turkish banks including Isbank, Garanti and state lender Ziraat Bank confirmed the attacks, saying they had caused intermittent disruption.

Bank shares were unmoved by the news.

“The attacks are serious,” said Onur Oz, a spokesman for Internet provider Turk Telekom. “But the target is not Turk Telekom.

Instead, banks and public institutions are under heavyattack,” he said.

“A majority of Turkish institutions use Turk Telekom as theservice provider, therefore we are the ones doing the defence against these attacks.”

A government cyber security unit was taking precautions andthe incident was under control, transport minister Binali Yildirim said earlier this week.

He did not comment specificallyon the targeting of banks, and his ministry was not available for comment on Friday.

“These attacks began two weeks ago but have intensified overthe past two days,” said Burak Atakani, a network specialist from Istanbul Technical University.

He said that the service provider used by some universities,police academies and the research department of the military had also come under attack.

Nic.Tr, a non-government body that administers addresses for websites using Turkey’s “.Tr” domain, including ministries, the military, banks and many commercial sites, said earlier thisweek that the attacks originated from “organised sources” outside Turkey.

Turkey incensed Russia last month by shooting down a Russian military plane near the Syrian border, and Moscow has retaliatedwith economic sanctions.

In the past, countries such as Estonia and Georgia have suffered cyber attacks emanating from Russia after incurring Moscow’s anger.

Reuters sought comment from the Russian foreign ministry,but none was immediately available.

Separately, the Anonymous hacking group posted a video over the weekend on YouTube, which has since been removed, saying cyber attacks would continue if Turkey “doesn’t stop supporting”Islamic State.

Some of Ankara’s critics, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, have accused Turkey of supporting and aiding Islamic State militants, a charge the government denies.