GTBank downtime: Incompetence or something more sinister?

An individual with extensive experience in the technology industry shared insights regarding a recent website downtime issue in Nigeria. 

Recently, there was a notable incident where the website gtbank.com was inaccessible to users in Nigeria.

Having a background in the domain industry for over 18 years, it is essential to shed light on the matter. The expert is associated with a domain registrar, Go54 (formerly known as Whogohost), serving a significant number of businesses and organizations in Nigeria, including GTBank, and overseeing a domain registry (.cv).

The downtime of GTBank’s website was reportedly due to a failure to renew their domain name. However, public records suggest otherwise, dating back to 2021. The domain has been consistently managed by the same registrar and the configurations have remained unchanged over the years.

Further investigation into the domain’s history revealed details about its registration and privacy settings. The addition of a new A record on the website was identified as the only recent change, pointing to servers at Confluence Networks. Such alterations could indicate various issues such as data center problems, human errors, or security threats like DDOS attacks.

Given past incidents in the financial sector, it is possible that the actual cause of the problem might not be fully disclosed by the affected organization. This highlights the importance of cybersecurity measures and vigilance in an increasingly digital landscape.

The expert emphasizes the potential risks associated with technological failures and advises individuals to diversify their online security measures, including using multiple bank accounts, implementing two-factor authentication, and maintaining unique passwords for different platforms.

Staying informed and proactive in safeguarding personal information is crucial in today’s digital age.