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)
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