MoneyGram Services Disrupted for Days Due to Cybersecurity Issue
MoneyGram's services were disrupted for several days due to a cybersecurity issue that affected the company and its users. Last Saturday, the money transfer solution announced that it was experiencing a network outage that impacted the connectivity of several of its systems, and that it was working to better understand the nature and extent of the problem. By Monday, the issue had been identified, and an investigation was immediately launched, with some systems taken offline, explaining the inability of customers to connect to the network. Progress has been made since then, and most services are now functional.
As the second-largest money transfer company in the world, MoneyGram processes over 120 million transactions annually from tens of millions of users. This outage raises, once again, the risks that loom over money transfer services, which are prime targets for cybercriminals due to the large amounts of sensitive data they handle. The challenge lies in finding a balance between security and the simplicity of the services offered. Are money transfer specialists ready to take on this challenge?
It's not as clear-cut as it seems, as it requires enormous resources that can make transactions more expensive and, therefore, less competitive. At the same time, a few days of unavailability can have severe consequences, including financial losses and damage to customer trust and a company's reputation. It also costs money.
