Malta's Bank of Valletta has shut down Internet and mobile banking for the second time in as a many weeks, raising speculation that the bank may be under renewed attack from cyber intruders.
Earlier this month BOV tooks the drastic step of shutting down all Internet access, including branches and cashpoints, after detecting a cyber intrusion by criminals who tried to steal EUR13 million.
The assault involved the creation of false international payments totaling $14.7 million to banks in Britain, the United States, the Czech Republic and Hong Kong.
The bank went offline for an entire day as it battled to track down the source of the leak and patch up the security hole through which the hackers had entered.
The latest incident has seen mobile, card and Internet banking services go dark once again, inviting speculation that BOV's attempts to shore up its defences earlier this month were unsuccessful.