Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
An expert team of Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Transaction (Swift) is due to visit Bangladesh soon to assess the security system of reserves operation by Bangladesh Bank (BB), official sources said.
The upcoming visit of Swift team has been arranged following the $101 million cyber heist from BB’s reserve account with Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
“Swift experts will examine the previous security system of the central bank’s reserve transfer that breached by hackers and delivered payment orders to Federal Reserve Bank,” a senior BB official told The New Nation on Thursday.
He said, the team will also suggest necessary pre-cautionary measures so that hackers cannot breach the system in future.
“Besides, the experts will also help improve operation of private banks in safe transaction to facilitate overseas trade and commerce,” he added.
Authorised Dealer (AD) banks have been using the Swift network to facilitate overseas transactions with regard to export and import and bank to bank payment.
Bangladesh’s annual export-import trade value worth $ 70 billion and the entire amount
transacts through Swift network. Swift has track record of providing secure financial transactions but the biggest-ever cyber heist from Bangladesh bank’s reserves raises question about its security.
BB sources said all the central banks worldwide and commercial banks have become concerned over the cyber heist.
Thus, the Bangladesh Bank’s experience may help Swift to improve its security arrangements, they said.
Meanwhile, the BB has set up three-layer security system to reserves operation which perceived to be more secured to avoid cyber heist. Under the new operation system, a single order or payment advice will not work to make transactions.
