Clearing at CDSL back to normal post cyber attack

Clearing and settlement services at Central Depository Services (India), suspended on Friday due to a cyber-attack, were finally completed on Sunday, said the company.

On Sunday evening, the country’s largest depository by way of active demat accounts said that its systems had been made live after due checks and validations.

“The systems are functional to carry out depository activities. In coordination with the other Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs), the pending settlement-related activities pertaining to the Business Day - Friday, November 18, 2022, have been successfully completed,” CDSL said in an exchange filing.

On Friday, the depository said it had detected malware in a few of its internal machines, and as a matter of abundant caution, the company immediately isolated the machines and disconnected itself from other constituents of the capital market.

A malware attack is a cyberattack where malicious software executes unauthorized actions on the victim’s system. Malicious software encompasses many specific attacks, such as ransomware, spyware, command and control, and more.

The depository stated that the team has reported the incident to the relevant authorities and is working with its cyber security advisors to analyse the impact. However, CDSL had clarified there is no reason to believe that confidential information or investor data has been compromised.