DNA Edit: Cosmos heist – The cyberattack could be a prelude to the big show

Without resorting to fearmongering, it can be said that the fall of Cosmos bank is an ominous portent. It was a little publicity stunt, so to speak, by hackers who had effortlessly entered a system by demolishing the bank’s online security architecture. In this coordinated digital attack, Rs 94 crore was withdrawn through thousands of ATM transactions carried out from 28 countries between 3 pm and 10 pm on Saturday. The online walls of Cosmos had earlier been breached as well when hackers stole data of hundreds of debit cards. This malware onslaught is different from the previous attacks because hackers kept the focus only on an Indian bank. And given their prowess, it’s just a matter of time before our banking system crumbles like a house of cards. 

There is no reason to believe that the 112-year-old cooperative bank is more vulnerable than other financial institutions. The largest data breach in India’s banking system, affecting nearly 3.2 million debit cards, came to light in September 2016, but the theft had occurred between May and July that year. The officials of YES Bank, the prime victim, were utterly clueless about it for a couple of months. Later, SBI, HDFC, ICICI and Axis Bank too fell prey to malware attacks. The malware is a sophisticated programme that can bypass firewalls to penetrate a network without being detected and then cover up its tracks after causing tremendous damage. Welcome to a new world where conventional warfare makes way for such deadly silent weapons that can cripple a country’s economy in a few hours. 

Cybersecurity experts have been drawing attention to the fact that Indian banks are still ill-equipped even after repeated assaults. This means that their core banking systems are vulnerable. In the latest case, they even failed to act on available intelligence. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had warned global banks a day before Cosmos Bank was breached that a major hacking operation, targeting ATM machines, might be in the offing. The security systems in banks need to be constantly upgraded to meet the challenges posed by hackers. That’s easier said than done because cyber criminals always seem to be a step ahead. In the wake of the WannaCry virus attack in 2017, the Reserve Bank of India had categorically asked banks to take precautionary measures to protect ATMs. Many of these machines run on outdated operating systems. 

The time has come to devise a coordinated strategy on a global scale, involving other victim countries. In 2017, 2,00,000 computers in 150 countries were affected, leading to a virtual shutdown of different kinds of services. Eternal vigilance, it appears, is the price for protecting the humble taxpayer’s money. In order to secure its banking systems, India needs to invest in cutting-edge technologies and develop an army of highly-sophisticated security experts, who can detect the loopholes in the security apparatus. With every attack, the common man’s faith in the country’s financial institutions are severely eroded. Cosmos bank’s security and financial predicament must not be treated lightly.