Banks most vulnerable to cyber threats: Govt official

 

MUMBAI, Feb 20: The banking system needs to prepare itself to address the risks and challenges arising from cyber security and the disruptions being thrown up by technology adoptions, a top government official said.

Banks also need to strengthen their software as they

are the most vulnerable to cyber attacks, the official added.

“We need to get prepared ourselves to address the

challenges of security, the challenges of risks and the

challenges of disruption which technology would present,”

Gulshan Rai, national cyber security coordinator at the

National Security Council Secretariat in the PMO, said

Wednesday while addressing a banking technology summit

organised by the IBA through a video link from Delhi.

Rai said banks have to move faster to meet the

challenges from evolution and revolution depending on their

system capabilities to deal with any risks emanating from

technology adoption.

He said in a heterogeneous world where there are

different vendors, systems and where applications are not

seamlessly connected or tested and warned that things will

only get more complex with the fifth generation technology.

“We are in a world where we are dealing with next

generation items. Every software and hardware is a next

generation,” he said.

With the fifth generation telecom networks coming up,

government has started free trials of this new technology to

ensure smoother implementation. “All the interface and

systems will require a significant upgrades with the fifth

generation technology coming in.”

Noting that in terms of cyber attacks, banking and the

financial sector is one of the most targetted sectors, he

said, “nearly 22 percent of the cyber attacks which took place

in the country last year were on the banking sector. These

attacks are becoming complex day by day.”

The time has come where the CEO will have to be as

technology-savvy as his CTO to understand the complexity of

the technology. “Challenges are becoming very complex when it

comes to technology and we must look at more aggressively,

constructively and comprehensively to address them.”

Addressing the event, Reserve Bank executive director

Ganesh Kumar said the central bank is open to any kind of

innovation provided they come with adequate safety and

security systems.

“Innovation is something that we are open and we

encourage innovation and we’ll popularise but innovate with

caution because ultimately we are dealing with money which is

fungible and people need trust,” Kumar said. (PTI)