The fact that the alleged criminals at home and abroad have taken away Tk 2000 crores from at least 1000 ATM booths of different public and private run banks and financial institutions in the last four years certainly exposes the vulnerability of banking sector to cyber threats.
The widespread intervention of IT in banking sector over the last years has made the banks vulnerable to Cyber attacks. Reportedly, fifty per cent banks of the country are vulnerable to cyber attack risks as these financial institutions have not yet been equipped properly to check those.
The need for reinforcing cyber security has
often been neglected in Bangladesh because
of the absence of stern and effective
cyber security regulatory norms
Experts are of the opinion that most of the banks are yet to comply with the directions despite strict guidelines from Bangladesh Bank (BB) over establishment of IT Governance and IT Security for all banks in the country. Ergo, all the private and public banks should allocate a certain portion of annual income for ICT infrastructure development and manpower training.
The need for reinforcing cyber security has often been neglected in Bangladesh because of the absence of stern and effective cyber security regulatory norms. The developed countries have laid more emphasis on resisting sophisticated cyber attacks and protecting banking information and infrastructure whereas Bangladesh is lagging far behind in taking such preparations owing to lack of skilled manpower and modern technology. It is disgraceful to note that some basic guidelines and recommendations have been issued by BB but they are still away from international standards.
Considering the situation, we call upon the bank authorities to think how to involve IT to minimize the cost and increase the efficiency, and how to provide better services to the customers ensuring reliability, safety and security. Otherwise, banks may face IT risks as well as business risks..
As cybercrime is an emerging threat and no one is fully secure these days, emphasis should be given on how we can control cybercrimes with continuous monitoring and act accordingly. It is now not only up to the organisations but also to the state to prioritise country’s cyber security needs. In this regard, the government should formulate and implement the right policies and cyber laws that will make online transactions a safer choice for customers. Also there is a need to deploy special cyber security watchdogs and equip them with advanced technology.