Banks further alerted about cyberattack threat

The government has alerted banks again about the threat of a cyberattack, asking them to strengthen their security measures to avoid the risk of being hacked.

The Financial Institutions Division of the Finance Ministry came up with the fresh warning through a letter on Thursday and gave instructions to take necessary measures, said an official of the state-run Rupali Bank.

Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam, managing director and chief executive officer of the state-owned Agrani Bank, said: "We have already taken necessary measures after cyber hacking alert by the Finance Ministry." 

Also Read - Hacking alert: Banks in Bangladesh limit ATMs, cards and online transactions to avoid risks

Previously, in August, the Bangladesh Government's Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) informed the central bank that a North Korean hacker group (Beagle Boys) is attempting to attack Bangladesh's banking industry.  

Then, Bangladesh Bank alerted banks about the risk of cyber hacking.

After the cyberattack alert, most of the banks have restricted their automated teller machines (ATMs), cards and online transactions and strengthened their security measures.

On February 5, 2016, unidentified hackers stole $101 million from Bangladesh Bank's account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York using fake orders on the SWIFT payment system. It was one of the biggest cybercrimes in the world.