According to TOI, RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 65 lakh on AP Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank. As we mentioned, the reason for the penalty was the bank’s laxity in cyber regulations of the Reserve Bank, due to which hackers stole Rs 12.48 crore by breaking into the bank’s system. The hacking and cyber theft was done on January 24, 2022, after which the bank itself informed the police and the Reserve Bank.
The report further states that the police investigation revealed that the hackers sent a series of phishing emails to the bank’s employees. When these emails containing malware were opened by the employees, it gave the hackers access to the bank’s systems.
However, six cybercriminals were arrested, two of whom are said to be Nigerian nationals.
The police investigation revealed the alleged negligence of the bank in implementing the cyber security solution. Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand later informed about these lapses through a letter to the RBI Governor and also requested him to suspend the operational license of the bank.
According to the police, the bank did not have the required cyber security infrastructure, which included security measures such as anti-phishing applications, intrusion prevention and detection systems, real-time defense and management systems, as per RBI guidelines.
