Over the weekend, there was a bit of a situation with CIMBClicks. A number of users said that the online banking platform had been hacked but CIMB was quick to issue a statement and point out that this wasn’t the case. However, users are not buying any of it as CIMB failed to address a number of concerns raised. Frustrated, the crowd turned to Twitter and the platform responded just as expected.
1. The PR team had a lot on their hands
cimb bank employee this morning pic.twitter.com/ClYO1HW4jb
— Z (@ezrifikri) December 17, 2018
2. Meanwhile, the IT team was working hard to ‘fix’ the problem
CIMB IT team rn pic.twitter.com/sFoUuF7fg2
— FaeezFezAhmad (@faeezfez) December 17, 2018
3. Despite the pressure, the team remained calm
CIMB IT right now pic.twitter.com/01634mMRwj
— A:\Moonsyi.bin (@moonsyi) December 17, 2018
4. They hoped for the best
CIMB cybersecurity team right now: pic.twitter.com/AC5tSIzuFP
— Khabir (@KhabirM) December 17, 2018
5. Then, came the official statement: “Our system remains secure”, CIMB said…
CIMB: CIMB Clicks remains secure, additional measures introduced
— Haikal Idris (@haikalclassic) December 17, 2018
CIMB Clicks: pic.twitter.com/EESlhclldS
6. But users were not convinced
#cimb @CIMB_Assists security right now. pic.twitter.com/m06UM2nb0p
— Ajip Si Mujahid Siber (@ajipkasa) December 17, 2018
7. Some were even more skeptical
CIMB bank security be like : pic.twitter.com/FjFBPhmsaF
— Bujibu (@bujibu_chempel) December 16, 2018
8. The issue gave a whole new meaning to “CIMB”
CIMB now is Completely Insecure Malaysian Bank 😂
— Yoong (@pseudolokun) December 17, 2018
9. Meanwhile, Maybank2U customers be like…
Me, a maybank2u user on CIMB Clicks fiasco pic.twitter.com/aZ8cwoZwS4
— Izzah (@theizzah_) December 17, 2018
10. Poyonya…
Saw the chaos #Cimb made but I only have RM2 and that’s in Maybank. pic.twitter.com/aCKLC9In6x
— Mia Nawawi (@MiaNawawi) December 17, 2018
11. And then there were those who were not really concerned
When the hacker sees the balance in my CIMB account pic.twitter.com/JowLSbGD6O
— Faizal Rosly (@ijaicool) December 17, 2018
12. For some, having their account hacked was the least of their problems
Hacker login my CIMB Clicks : pic.twitter.com/ewEUMkDUKd
— Keyo. (@keyoyi) December 17, 2018
13. Others had hoped for sympathy
When hackers see the amount of money in my CIMB acc, they’ll be like… pic.twitter.com/fYNoBsQ2jh
— sistur edazu (@AidaSue) December 17, 2018
14. Some accounts had a built-in hacker deterrent
“How broke are you?”
— Typical Malaysian (@TypicalMsian) December 17, 2018
Me: the cimb hackers immediately logged out of my account after looking at my balance
15. Through it all, there are still loyal customers
i’m going to CIMB bank today and get a new debit card and stuff. i know CIMB will be hectic today, but i’ll be the best customer ever. i’ll wait patiently, i won’t raise my voice, and i’ll smile through the painnnnn pic.twitter.com/6crpp8LOoE
— Hadi M. Nor (@hadimnor) December 17, 2018
It’s worth pointing out that what had happened with CIMBClicks over the weekend can’t actually be called a hack. From what we can see, it is more the result of poor planning on CIMB’s part.
If CIMB had indeed planned to introduce reCAPTCHA and support for passwords with more characters, they could have avoided all the chaos and confusion by informing their customers about the move way in advance.
The response provided by CIMB didn’t help either as it didn’t directly address the public’s concerns on unauthorised transactions especially via PayPal and the seemingly unplanned deployment of reCAPTCHA and updated password requirements.
Here’s hoping that the CIMB account holders are not affected too much by this incident.