MoneyGram Cyber Attack Disrupts International Money Transfers

A cyber attack on MoneyGram has caused significant disruptions to international money transfers. The attack, which occurred on a Sunday, affected MoneyGram's ability to process transactions.

MoneyGram's systems were unavailable for several hours, leaving customers unable to send or receive money. This caused inconvenience for those who rely on the service.

The attack was reportedly carried out by a group of hackers who exploited a vulnerability in MoneyGram's system.

MoneyGram is still working to restore its systems after a cyberattack caused a week-long outage. The company, which is second only to Western Union among international money transfer services, has about 50 million customers per year and processes around $200 billion USD in transactions.

MoneyGram's systems were affected by a cybersecurity issue that caused a network outage, impacting connectivity to some of its systems. The company took proactive steps to address the issue, including taking certain systems offline, which affected network connectivity and disrupted services globally.

The outage started on Friday, September 20, when people reported the inability to receive payments or access their money through the service. MoneyGram initially said it was experiencing a "network outage" but did not share any additional details.

MoneyGram is working with external cybersecurity experts and law enforcement to resolve the situation. The company has not shared what type of attack it suffered, but the extended outage and loss of connectivity to systems is indicative of a ransomware attack.

The outage has had a significant impact on MoneyGram's customers, including migrant workers who rely on the service to send money to family members back in their native country. Eighty-two percent of eCommerce merchants experienced a cyber or data breach in the last year, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence report "Fraud Management in Online Transactions."

MoneyGram has not shared a timeline for when its systems will be fully operational again. The company is working around the clock to bring its systems back online and resume normal business operations.

MoneyGram's cyber attack has left many users questioning the company's ability to secure their financial transactions and data. The outage has caused considerable inconvenience, particularly for individuals and businesses who rely on MoneyGram for international money transfers.

The delay in service restoration has raised concerns about MoneyGram's preparedness and ability to respond to cyberattacks. The company has reassured customers that they are working with cybersecurity experts and law enforcement to resolve the situation.

MoneyGram has confirmed that a cyberattack is behind the dayslong outage, affecting tens of millions of users who process over 120 million transactions annually. The company's massive customer base makes a potential data breach a serious concern.

The first signs of a problem appeared on Friday, September 20, when people reported the inability to receive payments or access their money through the service. MoneyGram initially attributed the issue to a "network outage" impacting connectivity to their systems.

The company took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the outage, but didn't share any additional details. It wasn't until Monday morning that MoneyGram finally confirmed that a cybersecurity incident caused the systems outage.

MoneyGram is working diligently with external experts and law enforcement to resolve the situation and bring their systems back online. However, no time estimates have been given for when the systems might return to normal operational status.

Here are some key points about the MoneyGram cyber attack:

MoneyGram is making progress in restoring its key transactional systems, but it hasn't specified which systems were impacted.

The company is working "around the clock" to bring services back online, which is reassuring to customers who are waiting for their pending transactions to be available.

MoneyGram has yet to provide a timeline for when all services will be back to normal, leaving many users in the dark about the full extent of the breach.

The company reassured customers that pending transactions will be available once the systems are fully restored, but it's unclear when that will happen.

MoneyGram is making progress in restoring its key transactional systems, but it's been working around the clock to bring services back online.

The company has successfully restored some of its systems, but it hasn't specified which ones were impacted.

MoneyGram has reassured customers that pending transactions will be available once the systems are fully restored.

There's no timeline for when all services will be back to normal, leaving many users in the dark about the full extent of the breach.

MoneyGram hasn't provided details on whether any sensitive data was compromised during the cyberattack.

MoneyGram admits cybersecurity issues, coinciding with a rise in cyberattacks, particularly those involving cryptocurrency. The company's services are especially important for immigrants in the United States, who rely on MoneyGram to send funds back to their families abroad.

Chainalysis reported a 96% year-on-year increase in crypto-related ransomware attacks in 2024 compared to 2023. This surge has been partly driven by a record-breaking $75 million ransom payment to the Dark Angels ransomware group.

The company's venture into the cryptocurrency space, offering fiat-to-crypto exchange services, has increased its exposure to cybersecurity threats. MoneyGram's partnership with CEX.io to offer stablecoin services at MoneyGram kiosks is a recent development.

A record-breaking $75 million ransom payment to the Dark Angels ransomware group far exceeds the $37.8 million in total ransom payments made throughout 2023. This highlights the growing threat of ransomware attacks in the cryptocurrency space.

MoneyGram processes over $200 billion annually for 50 million customers, making it one of the world's largest money transfer companies. Its services are critical to global remittances, and any cybersecurity issues can have far-reaching consequences.