Bangladesh Bank to develop own software to counter security threat
“A committee has been formed for this. The committee is recruiting efficient people from the IT sector. Developing the software will be started after the recruitment.”
Bangladesh Bank will develop its own Core Banking Solution (CBS) software to protect sensitive information about the country's economy from any kind of security threat.
The decision came in a recent meeting of the Internal Audit Department where a report on the information security risks of the central bank was submitted.
Md Serajul Islam, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, told The Business Standard the software will be developed by the workforce of the central bank.
"A committee has been formed for this. The committee is recruiting efficient people from the IT sector. Developing the software will be started after the recruitment," he said.
"The whole process will take some time," he added.
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, an Indian Core Banking Solution software company, has been working as a vendor for the Bangladesh Bank since 2013.
Bangladesh Bank does all its online transactions using the software. All the information concerning these transactions are saved in the software.
But BB officials are concerned about possible security breach as the vendor has access to secret information of the central bank. Officials of the company hold the password of the software.
Currently, two foreign officials of the company operate the software at the Bangladesh Bank head office. The company has changed its officials several times in recent years.
Bangladesh Bank officials said at first the Internal Audit Department officials suggested at the meeting, held on November 19, 2019, that the vendor should be changed.
But considering the fact that any vendor will have the password of the CBS software, the officials opined for a permanent solution.
Bangladesh Bank has taken different steps to ensure the security of its information after the reserve heist in 2016. But officials said the steps are not strong enough to protect it from a possible threat.
A senior official of Bangladesh Bank has told The Business Standard that, the central bank has massively reformed its central IT server and data centers. They believe the dealing room of the central bank's back office is now well-protected. For ensuring officials are on duty even on holidays, BB will soon appoint a chief IT security officer.