The European Investment Bank (EIB), a triple-A-rated credit institution secured by the European Union (EU), is under attack. In a tweet on June 19, the long-term lending arm of the EU said they were facing a cyber-attack that had affected the availability of some of its key websites.
While some of the bank’s sites have been rendered inaccessible, possibly inconveniencing some of its clientele base, Bitcoin and Ethereum, two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency networks, have proven immune to cyber-attacks and continue to operate with nearly 100% reliability and uptime.
European Investment Bank Under Attack
It could not be immediately ascertained why the EIB was being targeted. However, what’s evident is that the lender plays a vital role in the European Union’s financial infrastructure.
The bank is one of the largest multi-lateral lenders in the world and one of the top financiers of efforts to combat climate change. Besides, the EIB plays a critical role in rolling out loans, guarantees, and equity to projects involved in sustainable development within the European Union.
Specifically, the bank is involved in financial operations revolving around climate action, funneling over $82 billion to projects fighting climate change in the last eight years. At the same time, the bank finances platform enhances connectivity and innovation in the zone.
Borrowers can have confidence in the financial institution because the European Union budget guarantees it. As such, clients enjoy low-risk loans while investors remain confident that the bank won’t go bust.
With the bank now targeted by hackers, EIB has acknowledged that the eib.org and eif.org websites have been affected. The eib.org platform provides information about the bank’s latest activities and investments.
Meanwhile, eif.org offers details about the bank’s fund activities and investments. It is where users can also learn about the strategy used by the bank when building their portfolios and financing projects.
Bitcoin, Ethereum Are Resilient
While the bank didn’t specifically mention the type of attack they were facing, the inconvenience can be a source of concern. It also points out the fragilities in the traditional finance ecosystem, most of which operate using centralized systems.
These centralized networks are prone to outages and attacks, as currently witnessed with the EIB. For now, it is unclear whether funds have been lost or the personal information of any of their executives, projects, and others leaked.
The EIB attack highlights the advantages distributed and decentralized networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum have. As regulation evolves in the European Union, Bitcoin, and Ethereum remain resilient and process millions of dollars worth of transactions daily.
Recently, the EU implemented the Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) rules. With this, EU member states can regulate the issuance, trading, and crypto assets. Under MiCA, the EU offers businesses guidance on licensing, KYC and AML requirements, consumer protection rules, and more.