NAB hit by DoS attack

The National Australia Bank (NAB) has reported that it was hit with a denial of Service Attack (DoA) on Wednesday.

The attack, which was first detected at 6am, saw the blocking of access to the NAB’s site and slow log-ons for the bank’s internet banking customers occurred intermittently throughout the day, NAB spokesperson Megan Lane said.

Thus far, the NAB was not aware of the source or motivation of the attack, Lane said, but the event had been referred to the Australian High Tech Crime Centre (AHTCC) - a section of the Australian Federal Police.

The incident was not the first time the NAB had been targeted by a DoS attack, she said, but this instance was one of the “more significant” efforts to block access to the company’s website.

AFP spokesperson Nicholas Pedley confirmed that a referral from the NAB had been received and said the AFP was investigating this matter.

“The AFP takes any activity of this nature seriously and is working closely with the NAB to resolve the matter as quickly as possible,” he said.

In announcing the DoS attack, the NAB has renewed its campaign warning of the dangers of hoax emails, Lane said.

However, the bank was uncertain as to whether the DoS attack was being used as a pretext to soften up customers for a phishing attack through creating the expectation of special emails from the bank explaining the interruptions to the website.

“We just think it’s timely to remind customers that we will never ask them for their details,” she said.