Wake up to cyber threats: analysts
Bangladesh should try to find out why cyber security is being breached as the cost of ensuring cyber safety is increasing every year in many countries, speakers said yesterday.
Financial institutions around the world spend 8 percent to 10 percent of their IT budget for cyber security. The rate is 2-3 percent for non-financial institutions, said David Allen Cass, chief information security officer at IBM.
“It is not enough to spend money for ensuring cyber security; it is equally important to identify how cyber security is being breached and take steps accordingly,” he spoke through video conferencing at a conference on cyber security at Radisson Hotel in Dhaka. The ICT Division, the Access to Information and the Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services (BASIS) organised the daylong Bangladesh Information Security Exhibition & Conference.
The conference discussed cyber security and risk management with special emphasis on information security for Bangladesh in order to increase awareness on cyber security threats and building capabilities to secure a prosperous digital future through innovation and engagement.
On an average, 200 cyber attacks take place every day across the world. The attackers target government and non-government organisations, including financial institutions, according to the speakers.
Fahad Kabir, cyber security leader of Ernst & Young Canada, said the cost of cyber attacks was about $1 billion globally in 2011 and it rose to $100 billion in 2014.
“In developing countries such as Bangladesh, the main problem is many companies and organisations don't know how they are becoming the victims of cyber attacks.”
Sergey Golovanov, principal security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, said there are two types of hackers who destroy cyber security of a company by installing malware in its system, and steal information. They use information to steal money.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, said the conference helped the government gather knowledge about cyber and digital security.
Kazi Monirul Kabir, chief innovation officer of Spider Digital Innovations, said: “We must take a closer look at the needs of our industries—particularly the financial industry—in managing risk and ensuring protection against cyber security threats.”
“At the same time we must ensure that we have the capability and know-how to build a prosperous digital future.”
Abu Hena Mohammad Razee Hassan, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank; Amar Singh, founder of Cyber Management Alliance Ltd; Shameem Ahsan, president of BASIS; Jeetendra Kerai, global account director for government and finance at Kaspersky Labs UK; and Tapan Kanti Sarkar, founder president of the CTO Forum Bangladesh, also spoke.
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