Kazi Zahidul Hasan :Puzzled by the $101 million cyberheist, Bangladesh Bank (BB) has decided to install a new software in its systems to prevent from fresh attack by cyber criminals.The new software will be supplied by BB’s own IT consultant Rakesh Asthana, sources in the central bank said. Requesting anonymity, one of the sources said, most bank officials are skeptical about the move but it’s a decision of the governor and nobody is ready to speak against it. They said, the IT expert is also an adviser to the governor and a good friend of him. Rakesh Asthana who worked earlier in the World Bank has been able to persuade the governor to give the supply to a firm he owns. Terming the move whimsical, many fear the installation of the new software will delete files in existing software and such event may also remove proof of hacking which is important to continue investigations into hacking of BB’s software system. Unidentified hackers had stolen $101 million last month from a reserve account of BB held with the New York Federal Reserve Bank after breaching its payment systems.”BB has decided to install a new software in its systems following the cyberheist. The move has been taken to enhance its (BBs) cyber security,” a senior BB official told The New Nation on Friday, preferring anonymity.He said, the software will be installed in all the computers of the bank. Later, the entire financial sector will be integrated with the new system.When asked, the BB official said, unknown hackers managed to install malware in the BB computer systems and watched, probably for weeks, how to go about withdrawing money from its US account.Using the malware for about a month hackers got to know how to withdraw the money from BB’s reserves. They had in fact attempted to steal around US$1 billion from BB’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York but they were able to take $101 million, the rest being saved in one of the largest known bank theft in the history.”As the hackers had the access of the system, it is necessary to install a new software at all the BB computers to enhance the cyber security of the bank,” said the BB official justifying the central bank’s fresh move.When asked about the cost involvement of installing a new software, the BB official, however, declined to comment on the issue.”Whatever the cost it does not matter, we want to make sure that our system is fully secured,” he added.
