United News of Bangladesh

A cybersecurity drill conducted in June uncovered vulnerabilities in the banking sector that could have led to a major cyber incident, Bangladesh Bank Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman said on Tuesday. He said the country's transition towards a digital economy has kept the authorities in a constant state of concern over cybersecurity. The central bank governor was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the "Cyber Incident Reporting System" and the "National ICT and Cyber Security Rating System" at the BCC Auditorium in Agargaon. He said the central bank took part in a cyber drill in late June to assess the security preparedness of the banking sector. The drill identified one or two vulnerabilities that could have posed serious risks for major banks or institutions, Mostaqur said. "We are moving towards a digital economy, talking about building a cashless society, and expanding transactions through QR codes," he said, expressing hope that the newly launched Cyber Incident Reporting System will play a significant role in generating early warnings for the banking sector. The central bank chief thanked the National Cyber Security Agency for its support in the initiative. He said the country's commercial banks have yet to reach the expected level of cybersecurity preparedness, adding that this shortfall remains a matter of concern for Bangladesh Bank. Speaking at the same event, Prime Minister's Adviser on Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Rehan Asif Asad said cyberattacks will not decline in the future but rather increase. He said the data security systems of government institutions are still at a primary stage, and called for coordinated efforts between the government and the private sector to strengthen them further.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday asked the private banks to be more sincere in providing loans at a low interest rate to small business enterprises to offset the Covid-19 fallouts.

An online webinar titled “Sarathi- Progress through Financial Inclusion: Knowledge Sharing Event” was held in the city on Monday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday announced that the government will provide Tk 2,000 crore to commercial banks as subsidy so that they could waive this money as interest from around 1.38 crore persons who took loans from banks. The announcement came while the Prime Minister was publishing the results of SSC and equivalent examinations from her official residence Ganobhaban through videoconferencing. She also said that the government earlier suspended the interest of bank loans for two months and the amount of that suspended interest was Tk 16,549 crore. "The rest of the interest money will have to be paid by the loan takers in the next 12 months," she said. Sheikh Hasina said that all the shops and business entities were closed and the government is now reopening those gradually. "Many of the business had taken loans from the banks, but they could not run their business properly. We have taken various types of initiatives so that they do not overburdened by the loans," she said. She said that the government in 19 packages allotted some Tk 103,117 crore which is 3.7 percent of the GDP. "I do not know any country in the world announced such huge amount (of its GDP) as stimulus package," she said. The Prime Minister said that the Tk 2,000 crore will be distributed among the loan takers proportionately. "The loan takers will not need to repay these money anymore, we are releasing them from this part (of money)," she added. She also said that by this decision of the government, some 1.38 crore loan takers will be benefited. "Their business and trade were shut down for COVID-19, we are giving them scope to start their activities again," she said.