Banks further Alerted on Cyberattack Threat

Bangladesh has again alerted banks to the possibility of cyber threats, urging them to improve cybersecurity and other required steps to stop the risk of hacking.

In view of this, the banks have enhanced monitoring of internet transactions and ATM booths. Any banks began shutting ATM booths at night, reports media. 

The Financial Institutions Department of the Ministry of Finance sent a letter to the banks last Thursday. It said that North Korean hacker group Beagle Boys was involved in stealing money from Bangladesh Bank reserves in 2016. They can also withdraw money from the ATM booths of various banks in Bangladesh and hack into the Swift network.

Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam, managing director and chief executive officer of state-owned Agrani Bank, said: "We have already taken necessary measures after cyber hacking alert by the Finance Ministry."

Previously, in August, the Bangladesh Government Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) told the central bank that the North Korean hacker group (Beagle Boys) was planning to attack Bangladesh's banking industry.

Bangladesh Bank then warned banks to the possibility of cyber hacking.

After the cyberattack warning, most banks limited their automated teller machines (ATMs), cards and online transactions and improved their security measures.

Any banks have suspended their ATM booth transactions from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., ATM EMV transactions, BEFTN transactions and Fast transactions.

On 5 February 2016, unidentified hackers robbed $101 million from Bangladesh Bank's account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York using bogus orders on the SWIFT payment machine. It was one of the major cybercrimes in the world.