The government should set up a special task force to co-ordinate investigations into the theft of over $100m from the Bangladesh Bank’s accounts at the Federal Reserve in New York.
It is an absolute top priority for Bangladesh Bank to find out exactly how this hugely serious breach of financial security occurred.
Key to this is finding out for certain if there was any collusion by complicit individuals within financial institutions that enabled the hackers to mimic Bangladesh Bank’s security protocols, or if there was a more fundamental IT lapse which allowed the hackers to use malware to steal passwords.
The apparent ease with which criminals were able to circumvent the security systems of a large number of international banks and institutions has huge implications for all involved.
All possible avenues of inquiry must be pursued to help ensure any potential loopholes and weaknesses in safeguarding the security of the nation’s foreign currency reserves are fully closed off.
While reports suggest some monies have been traced, at least $80m of Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserves remain missing and stolen.
Finding the missing money and the masterminds of this theft is vital to help build confidence in future security. Were it not for a slip up by the hackers and some luck, there is a real possibility that an even bigger amount of up to a billion dollars could have been digitally stolen.
A comprehensive inquiry needs to be pursued with the Philippines authorities and all the other international institutions and banks involved, to fully identify all the individuals who planned or aided the hackers and to bring them before the law.
There is no room for error in safeguarding financial security.
