Lesotho's central bank is grappling with widespread disruptions following a cyberattack detected earlier this week. The landlocked country, surrounded by South Africa and home to over 2 million people, disclosed multiple statements acknowledging the impact of the recent cyber incident on various systems.

In an official announcement on Tuesday, the Central Bank of Lesotho revealed, "The Central Bank of Lesotho advises the public that, on Monday 11th December 2023, it experienced a cybersecurity incident on its systems. The Bank has investigated the matter and is working around the clock to restore the systems."

Despite assuring the public that no financial losses occurred, the bank has suspended certain systems to prevent further intrusion by the attackers. Consequently, the suspension may lead to delayed payments as the institution focuses on restoring normalcy to its systems.

In a subsequent statement on Wednesday, in conjunction with the Bankers Association of Lesotho, it was revealed that the National Payments System's continued downtime is hindering inter-bank transactions across the country. Although technical teams are actively addressing the issue, officials have agreed to implement business continuity processes and measures to facilitate payments and transactions among banks. However, the specifics of these alternatives were not detailed in the statement.

Local news sources reported concerns about the potential impact on the exchange rate, given that Lesotho's currency, the Loti, is pegged to South Africa's rand. This cyber incident adds to a series of cybersecurity challenges faced by South Africa, including ransomware attacks on the state-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa in June and the Defense Department in September, which almost caused an international incident during the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg.

Earlier this week, cybersecurity company Zimperium reported an increase in cyber threats, with 29 malware families targeting 1,800 banking applications across 61 countries over the past year. This marks a significant escalation compared to 2022, where researchers identified 10 prolific malware families targeting 600 banking apps.