RBI asks commerical banks to periodically test cyber attack vulnerability

New Delhi : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked commercial banks to periodically conduct vulnerability test to test their cyber security preparedness, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.

"The RBI had issued advisories to banks in relation to ransomware attacks, regarding the application of relevant patches in and update of anti-virus software for all systems," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

He said the RBI had issued the Cyber Security Framework in Bank to help banks deal with any future attacks on their information systems.

The Minister also said the RBI has "apprised that the performance" of banks in respect of their cyber security preparedness is closely monitored through both on-site and off-site assessments. 

According to the RBI, 'WannaCry' ransomware attacks were reported from banks during May and June of this year, and some computers in two bank branches and one ATM unit were impacted "though no data loss was reported".