Financial institutions namely State Bank of India, Axis Bank and BSE, admitted of having faced cyber threat in the last three months.
In addition to these names, several other banks have also reported about facing an increase in cyber security breach in the recent times.
Flagging off the issue of cyber security, Axis Bank recently informed the RBI about having experienced a cyber attack, while the State Bank of India said it was re-issuing over 600,000 debit cards because of a potential security breach.
In some of the threats it is observed that a virus or malware blocks the system, which can be accessed only after a ransom is paid.
Talking in this regard, the BSE said: “Software viruses were found in three personal computers at the BSE in August, which were identified, separated and quarantined immediately.”
“The viruses did not have any impact on the working of the BSE or any of its departments. The viruses have also not been found to have affected other PCs. The incident was reported to regulatory agencies as part of routine compliance reporting,” the BSE added.
Axis Bank has hired Ernst and Young to investigate the cyber attack that it had experienced.
There have also been reports that ATM card details of several account holders may have been compromised. Several banks have asked their customers to change their card security details and to stick to their own ATM networks.
A survey on fraud in the financial sector by Assocham and PwC found these caused $20 billion (Rs 1.26 lakh crore) in direct losses annually.
The RBI has said the number, frequency and impact of cyber attacks have increased manifold in the past few months. However, experts said in none of these cases has any financial loss been reported.
