Central bank to complete BDO cyberattack probe by end-Jan.

THE PHILIPPINE central bank will complete its investigation on last month’s online fraud that affected BDO Unibank, Inc. clients, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said on Monday.

“In addition to that ongoing investigation, the BSP continues its cyber threat surveillance. With the latest reports indicating that cyberthreat actors increasingly rely on social engineering to perpetrate fraudulent activities,” he said in an online event.

Mr. Diokno noted that BSP continues to coordinate with law enforcement agencies and the private sector to prosecute cyber-related crimes.

“BSP has been steadfastly working to institutionalize cyber resilience in the financial services industry,” he said.

UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc., which was among the financial institutions that received unauthorized fund transfers, has filed charges against persons allegedly involved in the fraud.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), meanwhile, arrested last Friday three Filipinos and two Nigerians who are suspected to be part of the crime.

NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Victor V. Lorenzo said on Monday that banks have been addressing vulnerabilities to their online services in response to the incident.

These system vulnerabilities, he noted, is not specific to BDO. “The particular hacking incident in December did not result in a substantial loss because a particular receiving bank immediately red-flagged the transaction,” he told Radyo5 news.

The hackers were able to encash about P1.2 million but could have potentially stolen more than P50 million if these transactions were not immediately tagged as suspicious, he said.

The NBI official said the cybercrime division is also coordinating with different money transmitters and banks to consolidate data on the hacking. — John Victor D. Ordoñez with a report from Luz Wendy Noble