Banks and financial institutions are developing a multilevel security system in anticipation of cyberattacks by North Korean hackers. All kinds of activities related to ICT have been monitored including servers and data centers.
Separate monitoring units have been set up. Surveillance has been increased in the booths of the banks. The Ministry of Finance has already been informed about the steps taken by various public and private banks, according to officials of the Finance Division.
Earlier, the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance warned the Bangladesh Bank to take measures to prevent cyberattacks by North Korean hackers. In the light of that letter, the central bank has given instructions to various banks to take necessary steps.
A senior official of the Financial Institutions Division said that North Korean hackers were trying to hack the banks of Bangladesh. The Financial Institutions Division immediately warned Bangladesh Bank in the wake of such an intelligence report. Bangladesh Bank has warned all state-owned commercial and specialized public-private banks and financial institutions to upgrade their security measures. He added that in the meantime, various banks have strengthened their cyber security measures on their own.
A report published in the Wall Street Journal in July said that several US intelligence agencies had issued warnings that money would be stolen from banks through hacking around the world. It said the hackers, linked to the North Korean government were trying to extort money from banks around the world through ATM booths and fake transactions.
US intelligence officials said the hacker group is called the Beagle Boys. They have been active again since February of this year after remaining silent for several days. Since then, they have been trying to attack the banking system of different countries. The group may have been behind the theft of BB's reserves in 2016. According to US intelligence, Beagle Boys is probably a platform for various hacker groups. After issuing this warning, the 'Beagle Boys' hacker group's attempt to carry out a cyber-attack in Bangladesh has been thwarted, the government's Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) told the media.
Now there is nothing to fear, the danger is gone, said Tareq M Barkatullah, Project Director of CIRT. According to him, the hacker group's malware was found in the networks of three Internet service providers in the country. The target of the attackers was mainly the bank. The hackers tried to hack the bank online through a network of internet service providers. In such a situation, the central bank issued a warning for new cyberattacks.
According to Finance Ministry sources, several banks have informed the Financial Institutions Division detailing various steps taken to prevent cyber-attacks. Meanwhile, Managing Director (Additional Responsibilities) of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank Mohammad Idris told the Financial Institutions Division in a report that a five-tier security zone has been set up to protect North Korean hackers from cyber attacking. These are: formulation of ICT security policy, strengthening of ICT security monitoring, formation of computer incident response team, training of officials on virtual and cybersecurity.
According to the report, awareness has been raised in all branches of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank in accordance with the ICT Security Policy Guideline. Following the central bank's ICT security guidelines, the bank's data center is being monitored 24 hours a week.
Besides, a 5-member committee has been formed to deal with any situation. This committee will continue all kinds of activities to strengthen cybersecurity. Besides, the committee will provide emergency security of important information infrastructure, security of software and hardware. Bank officials will be given directions to deal with hackers’ attacks. The committee will also work to coordinate on risk mitigation.
Meanwhile, the private commercial Mercantile Bank has taken various initiatives to strengthen its cybersecurity. In a letter sent to the Financial Institutions Division, Assistant Vice President of the bank Faisal Hossain said the bank is taking necessary steps including upgrading software, installing antivirus and regular monitoring of logs to identify, analyze and prevent cyberattacks. A security operations center will be set up to work for 24 hours a week to further strengthen cyber security.
Skilled and experienced manpower has been deployed to carry out the responsibilities of the Treasury Management Department smoothly. In addition, ATM booths have been brought under all sorts of measures and surveillance to prevent hackers from accessing the servers. It is further said that ICT security unit has been established. Digital transactions and payments are being monitored round the clock to prevent fraud.
The letter further said that the unawareness of the bank officials is one of the weak points or obstacles in ensuring cyber security. As a result, regular training programs have been undertaken for all levels of bank officials to prevent cyberattacks, to create a 'human firewall' and reduce internal threats.
ask/wi
