Banks lack skills to tackle data centre damage: study

A research based on a survey of 27 banks has found 80 percent of them are devoid of the skilled manpower required to tackle damage to data centres from disasters such as cyber attacks and fires.

Moreover, 45 percent of them lacked disaster management funds, said Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, adding that banks have to ensure alternative measures to protect online banking during disasters or accidents. 

Addressing a workshop in the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) auditorium in the capital's Mirpur yesterday, he asked banks to comprehensively comply with the central bank's guidelines on the alternatives.

The BIBM organised the event titled “Diseaster recovery management in online banks: challenge and remedial measures” to make public the research report.

Of the 27 banks surveyed, 20 are private, two state-owned, two specialised and three foreign.

The survey found that online banking was fast gaining popularity in the era of information technology but was facing 11 challenges.

Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, supernumerary professor of the BIBM, suggested that banks train their branch managers on IT-related bank businesses.