A criminal investigation is under way after an island-based bank and trust company were targeted in a hacking attack.

The hackers targeted Cayman National Bank (Isle of Man) Limited and its sister company Cayman National Trust Company (Isle of Man) Limited.

A criminal hacking group has claimed responsibility for the data theft. It claims to have published 2TB of confidential data.

Cayman National Bank (Isle of Man) Limited is a subsidiary of Cayman National Corporation Ltd which is based in and operates from the Cayman Islands alongside its main banking subsidiary, Cayman National Bank Ltd.

The bank said it is confident that the theft is contained within its Isle of Man entities - and it has detected no evidence of financial losses to customers or Cayman National.

All of Cayman National’s operations within the Cayman Islands are separate and distinct operations from the bank in Isle of Man and the two banks do not share common systems, databases, client information, or email platforms.

The Isle of Man Financial Services Authority and Information Commissioner’s Office have been informed and are working with Cayman National in the Isle of Man.

Cayman National Bank (Isle of Man) Limited was among a number of banks targeted and subject to the same hacking activity.

A criminal investigation is ongoing and Cayman National is co-operating with law enforcement authorities, including Isle of Man Constabulary, to identify the perpetrators of the data theft.

Cayman National said it takes any breach of data security very seriously and a specialist IT forensic investigation is underway, with appropriate actions being taken to ensure that the clients of its bank and trust companies in the Isle of Man are protected.

Cayman National Bank (Isle of Man) Limited’s managing director, Nigel Gautrey, said: ’Cayman National, along with virtually every other international banking group, is not immune from the constant attempts by hackers to gain access to confidential data.

’In this instance, and despite the best efforts of leading data security consultants, this criminal hacking group has breached our system – although to date we have detected no evidence of financial loss to either our customers or Cayman National.’

The bank is in the process of notifying their customers of the data breach.

Any customers with questions should email [email protected]