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World Central Banks devise safety net against hackers
View(s):Central Banks of International Monetary Fund (IMF) member countries have agreed to work together in setting up a safety net to prevent money being stolen through bank websites by computer hackers.
This follows the recent attempt to transfer more than 100 million US dollars from Bangladesh’s account in the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told a media conference in Washington D.C.
This cyber crime came to light due to the vigilance of a Sri Lankan bank which detected the illicit money transfer when it was found that the recipient’s name was misspelt as Shalika “fandation (instead of ‘foundation’) — with the large amount also drawing suspicion.
Sri Lanka’s detection of this international money swindling racket has prompted Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of IMF member countries to join hands in preventing and combating cyber-attacks on computers in banks worldwide, the minister said in response to a question raised by the Sunday Times Journalist at the G-24 media conference on Thursday.
This agreement was reached at the IMF spring meetings being held at its headquarters in Washington D.C. The need for coordinated efforts to tackle this cyber threat was also emphasised by Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Modalities of the safety net will be worked out with the assistance of world renowned IT experts and central banks IT professionals. Mr. Karunanayake said legal action was being taken against Shalika Foundation directors who were named as local recipients of around US$20 million the hackers wanted to transfer.
A case has been filed at the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court against Shalika Foundation directors Gamage Shalika Perera, Don Prasad Rohitha, Nishantha Nalaka Walakuluarachchi, Sanjeewa Tissa Bandara and Shirani Dhammika Fernando by the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank.
Answering another question raised by the Sunday Times, Minister Karunanayake said the Central Bank was also examining documents to see whether any Sri Lankans were involved in offshore accounts as highlighted in the Panama Papers. In Colombo on Tuesday, Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran told reporters that the level of the probe on Sri Lankans having accounts as stated in the Panama Papers, revolved around the authenticity of these papers.
He said he was unable to speak about any preliminary investigations carried out as there seemed to be some doubt regarding the authenticity of the documents. “I find it difficult to believe that so much money has left (Sri Lanka). I find it difficult to believe those large numbers,” the governor said referring to media reports.