Cybersecurity Advisory by RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has alerted banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) about potential cyberattacks originating from Pakistan, aimed at disrupting India's financial infrastructure.

Key Measures and Directives

• RBI issued an advisory urging financial institutions to: 
  • Assess and strengthen their cybersecurity frameworks.
  • Activate multi-layered surveillance systems to detect and neutralize intrusions.

The advisory was based on intelligence from national security agencies, with details provided by the home ministry, Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), and the information and broadcasting ministry.

Operational Enhancements

• Banks and NBFCs are required to: 
  • Implement round-the-clock monitoring at key operational hubs like data centers.
  • Enhance intrusion detection systems (IDS) and threat detection protocols.
  • Strengthen anti-malware tools.

Business Continuity and Vigilance

• Institutions instructed to activate business continuity plans to ensure services during emergencies.
• Increased allocation of human resources for continuous monitoring, as noted by Rajneesh Karnatak, MD and CEO of Bank of India.
• Directive from DFS to maintain adequate cash in ATMs.

There has been a noticeable rise in suspicious cyber activity, but all threats have been neutralized before causing damage.