Bidvest Bank has confirmed a cyber incident involving a third-party provider, assuring customers that their banking systems are unaffected while investigations continue into the extent of data exposure and potential risk.
Bidvest Bank has told customers it is dealing with a cyber incident involving a third-party service provider, while stressing that its own banking systems were not affected and services remain operational. The bank said the provider has confirmed that Bidvest data was stored in the compromised environment and should be treated as potentially exposed, but the extent of any access has not yet been established and an independent forensic investigation is continuing.
The bank has not said which provider was involved or what information may have been at risk, saying only that the records fall into “limited categories” of data. It said it still does not know which clients may have been affected, but promised direct contact once that becomes clear. Bidvest’s early warning echoes Standard Bank’s handling of a separate incident in March, when it initially said only select data had been accessed.
Standard Bank later confirmed that the information involved included names, ID numbers, company registration numbers, contact details and account numbers, while its transactional systems stayed secure and fully operational. In a further update on 14 April, the bank said the affected systems were internal administrative and document filing platforms, and that no client funds were accessed or placed at risk. The Information Regulator has also been probing the incident and has raised concerns about transparency as it seeks to establish the full scale of the breach.
Bidvest has urged customers to stay alert for fraud attempts linked to the incident. It warned that criminals often exploit such events to pressure people into revealing PINs, passwords or one-time passwords, and said it will never ask customers to move money to a “safe account”. The bank advised clients to check statements and transaction alerts closely in the coming weeks and to contact the bank directly using the number on their card or statement if anything seems suspicious.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
