CASPER, Wyo. — Hilltop Bank has reopened all but one of its Wyoming locations following a cybersecurity breach that forced the financial institution to take online banking, mobile applications and other systems offline last week.
The bank’s website remained offline as of this reporting.
Bank officials told Oil City News that customer accounts remain secure as technical teams continue efforts to restore services.
Bill Salvin, a spokesperson for Hilltop Bank and True Companies, said Monday that all of the bank’s branches except its Cheyenne Prairie location have reopened following progress made by technical teams over the weekend.
Salvin did not provide an estimate for when the remaining branch would reopen.
He said the bank has found no evidence that customer accounts were compromised and stressed that customer deposits remain safe.
Branch Services Remain Limited
Although most branches have reopened, services remain restricted as recovery work continues, Oil City News reported.
According to an update posted by Hilltop Bank, branches are accepting deposits and withdrawals, receiving direct deposits, cashing checks issued by Hilltop and providing limited cash back on deposits of checks issued by other institutions.
Hilltop created a separate website following the cybersecurity incident to provide customers with updates on the service disruption and recovery.
The network problems began Sept. 8 when bank personnel detected what was described as degradation of its information technology infrastructure, according to Oil City News.
Early Sept. 9, the bank took its online banking, mobile applications and telephone systems offline to isolate its network and protect data.
Some branches reopened Sept. 10 with limited transaction capabilities.
Bank Warns of Scam Calls
As Hilltop works to restore its systems, Salvin also warned customers about scammers who have begun spoofing the bank’s customer service telephone number.
The scammers are making calls that appear to originate from Hilltop’s customer service number, 307-265-2740, according to Oil City News.
“Hilltop employees cannot and will not make outgoing calls from that number,” Salvin said. “If customers see that number, our advice is not to answer the call.”
Customers should not provide personal or financial information to callers claiming to represent the bank, he said.
Nature of Breach Won’t Be Disclosed
Hilltop has not publicly provided details about how the cybersecurity breach occurred.
Salvin told Oil City News on Friday that the bank does not plan to disclose the specific nature of the breach, including whether it involved malware, phishing or another method, even after the cause is determined.
“In terms of the nature of the breach, that’s just something we’re not going to be able to talk about,” he said.
The Wyoming Bankers Association also issued a statement Monday in response to concerns surrounding the incident, emphasizing that financial institutions operate under regulatory safeguards and contingency plans intended to protect customers and the financial system.
Scott Meier of the association urged the public to give Hilltop time to complete its technical investigation.
