Confusion among agents of Hezbollah’s financial institution, after it was electronically hacked

The electronic hacking of the financial institution “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” affiliated with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the publication of the data of depositors and borrowers, caused confusion in the arena that supported the party, despite the institution denying hackers having access to any of the depositors’ internal data or account numbers.
A group of hackers named Spiderz broke into the accounts of the organization “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” and its cameras in all branches. He published lists of borrower names for the years 2019 and 2020 on a website, and the links were placed on a special page on “Twitter”, accompanied by all the details related to the clients.
The pirate group asked the borrowers not to pay the fees owed for the benefit of the institution, and also asked the depositors to speed up the withdrawal of their deposits. The hackers promised, via video, to release more information in the next stage about the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association and other Hezbollah-affiliated institutions.
The process created confusion among customers as all customer data was made public. The operation came a few months after the foundation launched an ATM service at its branches in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the party’s center of influence. This encouraged some to place financial deposits with an institution that is not subject to the Lebanese banking system.
The foundation played down penetration; She denied that the hackers had access to any internal information, and a spokesperson said that the piracy affected the external network and did not reach the internal network, which includes the amount of deposits, the value of loans, etc., noting that “The internal network is well fortified and secure, and no movement has been detected in it, it cannot be accessed.”
The spokesperson said that investigations are being carried out to know the parties behind it, while assuring the institution’s clients that “the default is limited and that there is no risk to the accounts of depositors and borrowers alike. , and that there is no possibility of getting rid of them or moving them. “
The data released to the public included lists of customer names, account numbers and the type of currency they trade in. They also included a list of the most important clients, borrowers, loan amount, repayment rate, and personal information about clients. The hacking operation also revealed the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Foundation’s accounts at the Jammal Trust Bank, which had been subject to US sanctions in 2019 for providing financial services to Hezbollah, and was liquidated in Lebanon.
A spokesperson for “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” denied that the information published in the lists of the most important clients was correct, saying that the information it obtained “is similar to obtaining data from voters, and does not cover financial accounts. . Which disproves the hackers’ claims about ratings. “The rankings are not based on data, and even if they put numbers in, they will certainly be wrong because no one has reached them,” he added.
The “Buen Loan” is considered one of the party’s most prominent economic institutions. It is distributed in an area of ​​31 branches, most of which are located in areas inhabited by a majority Shiites and, to a lesser extent, in areas inhabited by the majority of Sunnis and Christians. It is not subject to the Lebanese banking system or to the “cash and credit” law that governs the relationship of financial institutions with the Central Bank of Lebanon.
The foundation was inaugurated in the eighties of the last century, when it was registered as a charitable association, and is known as an institution of social solidarity that grants interest-free loans in US dollars exclusively in exchange for a gold mortgage. His data shows that he made small loans (no more than $ 5,000) for amounts greater than $ 3 billion. The number of borrowers about 200 thousand.
In April 2016, the US Department of the Treasury included Al-Qard al-Hassan on its sanctions list (under the 2015 legislation). In April 2019, the association opened two accounts to transfer donations to flood victims in Iran by the Iranian Red Crescent and the Hezbollah Supply Association.