Banks need to beef up cyber security

Our banking industry has been prone to cyber attacks. Very recently it was reported by the media that three private banks came under cyber attacks. A big chunk of money were withdrawn from the banks and siphoned off.

Earlier, cards were cloned and by using the cloned cards, money was withdrawn from various accounts at ATM booths. This time, the hackers stole money from the ATM by using malware that hacked the core system.

The information technology (IT) officials were clueless about the stolen money as the decrease in money neither showed up in the individual accounts nor did it show up in the banks' balance sheets. But it was found that the cash deposited in the ATM machine has magically decreased.

A research study carried out in 2018 by Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management found that about 28 per cent or one-third of all the banks in the country are not prepared against cyber attacks. Around 38 per cent of banks were fully equipped to tackle cyber attacks and 34 per cent were partially prepared. The study also pointed out that investment into IT security is considered by some banks' managements as 'wasteful'.

In the age of digital banking, all banks should invest into hardware, software and capable IT personnel.

Mohammad Zonaed Emran

MTB MNC Banking Unit

[email protected]