CYBER attacks have emerged as a genuine threat in recent years and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is the latest institution to face it.
In a statement, the bank said the attack impacted its services yet gave assurance that no customer or financial data has been lost and that services will be restored by today (Monday).
While we are confident that being a premier financial institution NBP will undertake all requisite and remedial measures, it is also important that a thorough investigation should also be carried out into it in order to determine from where the attack actually originated.
The attack has once again brought the need for enhanced Internet security in the banking and other sectors.
In fact it is not the first attack of its kind. A few months back, the FBR suffered a cyber-security breach after its software, Microsoft Hyper-V, was not timely updated.
The details of the breach showed that while hackers were not able to entirely breach the system, they did manage to paralyse and slow down FBR’s operations for several hours.
Similarly other banks have also faced such attacks in the past. Online robberies have also become more rampant where account holders have reported of losing their money. In the digital world, while opportunities are unlimited, cyber security is also indispensable.
This recent incident should ring alarming bell and all businesses should improve cyber security while financial institutions should invest more in this sector under the supervision of central bank to avoid theft of data.
The government must also improve relevant laws to discourage this crime that has the potential to disturb banking industry.
