January 25 ------ The central bank will release the results of its investigation of the BDO Unibank Inc. hacking incident next week which will possibly include an announcement of penalties and sanctions against the involved banks. “The BSP is targeting to complete the investigation by end-January this year,” said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno on Monday, Jan. 24. “In addition to that ongoing investigation, the BSP continues its cyber-threat surveillance with the latest report indicating that cyber-threat hackers increasingly rely on social engineering to perpetrate their fraudulent activities,” said Diokno.
He added that the “BSP continues to aggressively coordinate with law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute scammers and with the relevant government and private sector players to address emerging cyber-related threats and fraud.” The BDO hacking incident occurred last December 11 and 12 and it also involved Union Bank of the Philippines since the cyber criminals transferred the stolen digital cash to Union Bank clients.
The BSP has set up a task force of cyber, anti-money laundering and legal experts to probe BDO’s cybersecurity lapses and the KYC (Know Your Customer) issues of Union Bank. Diokno said previously that the task force will submit a recommendation after 30 days as to the extent and gravity of penalties and sanctions that will be imposed against the involved banks for cybersecurity breaches and possible violations of the KYC rules. Diokno also said the BSP will identify vulnerabilities and non-compliance with central bank expectations in managing cyber and anti-money laundering related risk.
The taskforce is headed by BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier and includes Director Mel Plabasan of the Technology Risk and Innovation Supervision and officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council. The SM Group banking unit, BDO, is the country’s biggest lender while the Aboitiz-owned Union Bank is one of the first six financial institutions that were granted a digital bank license in 2021.
Source: mb.com.ph