Bangladesh central bank theft puts spotlight on IT cyber security

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India plans to tighten cyber security of banks in the wake of the $101-million theft from the central bank of Bangladesh and has formed a panel to examine the issue.

Governor Raghuram Rajan said the central bank has started a detailed examination of the status of the information technology (IT) being used by banks. The panel will be headed by Meena Hemachandra and provide broad guidance on how to improve the IT mechanism.

“We understand too little IT and there are various ways of getting through cyber defences, including through people rather than through processes or networks,” Rajan said. The central bank will be issuing IT examination reports to judge the security preparedness of banks as well as assess the effectiveness of the technology adoption of banks, he said.

Rajan’s reaction comes in the wake of the theft from the central bank of Bangladesh’s New York account, which was fraudulently sent to Philippines and Sri Lanka. Threats from cyber criminals have been on the rise with both banks and their customers at the receiving end of it.