Bank of Valletta

Bank of Valletta, also known as BOV, is a major financial institution headquartered in Malta. It provides core banking services including deposit accounts and facilitates international fund transfers for its customers. The bank operates branches and ATMs within Malta and supports overseas credit card transactions for its clients. Its operations are significant enough that disruptions can impact the national economy.

In February 2019, Bank of Valletta experienced a significant cyber attack. On February 13th, unauthorized international fund transfers totaling approximately 13 million euros were attempted to banks in four different countries. The breach was detected through transaction discrepancies. In response, the bank implemented a complete operational shutdown to mitigate risks and review its systems; this included closing branches, deactivating ATMs, and suspending its website. While depositor funds were ultimately unaffected, the shutdown caused difficulties for customers needing overseas credit card access and impacted Malta's economy. Bank of Valletta traced the fraudulent transfers and initiated recovery efforts to reverse them. The bank conducted an internal investigation to determine the origin and methods of the attack while planning a gradual restoration of services with enhanced security measures.