A “cybersecurity issue” has caused MoneyGram’s systems and payment services to be down since Friday, and the fintech giant has yet to update customers on when its global money transfer services are expected to resume.
The downed services reportedly include online transactions as well as in-person payments.
The Register has reached out to Texas-based MoneyGram for comment and will update this story when it has answers to questions, including when operations are expected to be restored and whether a ransomware infection is to blame for the forced downtime.
The company alerted customers via X/Twitter on Saturday, describing the problem as a “network outage affecting connectivity to a number of systems,” but clarified on Monday that some sort of digital intrusion was causing the outage.
But MoneyGram still hasn’t used the dreaded “r” word when describing the outage, and no ransomware gang has yet to claim responsibility for the intrusion.
On Monday’s Xeet, MoneyGram said it had “identified a cybersecurity issue affecting certain of our systems.” Following the discovery, the payment processor said it “immediately launched an investigation and took protective measures to address the issue, including proactively taking systems affecting our network connectivity offline.”
Since then, the company has reportedly hired third-party cybersecurity experts and is working with law enforcement. “We are working diligently to bring our systems back online and resume normal operations,” MoneyGram promised.
The money transfer giant has access to, and likely stores, large amounts of sensitive customer data, likely including usernames and passwords, bank account and credit card numbers, names, addresses, phone numbers and other contact information that, if in the wrong hands, could be used for financial or identity theft and other fraud.
This makes MoneyGram a prime target for digital thieves seeking payment, either in the form of extortion payments or by selling people’s personal information on dark web marketplaces.
In 2023, private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners acquired MoneyGram for approximately $1.8 billion. The fintech company claims to have more than 150 million customers worldwide.®
Speaking of cyber attacks… Arkansas City, Kansas, experienced a ransomware infection at its water treatment plant, forcing staff to switch to manual control. Officials said customer data and the water supply were safe, and a ransom demand was made. No payment was reportedly made.
