Business Desk :
Most banks in Bangladesh still lack the capacity to detect cyber attacks, as they are yet to establish Security Operations Centres (SOCs) despite facing multiple cyber security threats since the central bank reserve heist in 2016.
Following the heist, the Bangladesh Bank issued a circular on 3 March the same year, asking all banks to strengthen their cyber security protocols and establish SOCs -dedicated to monitoring, preventing, detecting, investigating, and responding to cyber threats around the clock.
It has been four years since the central bank issued the circular, but only three banks have established SOCs so far. But the Bangladesh Bank possesses few details about how those SOCs are being operating, the central bank’s Executive Director Debdulal Roy said on Tuesday.
Roy was speaking at a seminar on Security Operations Centres, organised by Backdoor – a cyber security solutions firm in Bangladesh.
Speaking at the event, City Bank Executive Vice President and Head of Information Technology Mohammed Anisur Rahman pointed out, “The Bangladesh Bank had issued a circular about establishing SOCs, but it did not provide any guidelines to us about establishing them.
“The lack of proper guidelines on the matter has made it difficult for us to follow the circular.”
Responding to the comment, Debdulal Roy said, “Banks can establish SOCs by following the Banking Regulation and Policy Department’s (BRPD) guidelines. They can also hire local security analysts and systems to tackle cyber attacks, but not foreign ones.
Meanwhile, Backdoor’s Managing Director and cyber security analyst Tanvir Ahmed Joha said,”85% of sensitive information from nine private banks is now in the hackers’ hands. Besides, hackers from North Korea, Russia and Vietnam are always trying to hack into Bangladesh’s banking system.
