BPI: Cybersecurity is still a shared responsibility
Despite huge investments in cybersecurity by many financial institutions, cyber attacks and cyber fraud cannot be wiped out if consumers remain clueless and complacent.
The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the first bank in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, said cybercriminals like hackers and fraudsters have become more sophisticated in recent years, allowing them to successfully mount threats in spite of organizations’ existing defense systems.
“The complacent and carefree attitude of consumers toward cyber threats makes the issue of cybersecurity among banks more complicated and difficult,” said Ramon Jocson, BPI Head of Enterprise Services Segment.
“Even though more and more instances of fraud happen and are reported in the news, some people still tend to think that these things are uncommon,” he said.
BPI, who continues to be at the forefront of banking innovation, knows about this and so invests heavily in technology, particularly on cybersecurity, to continually monitor the banks’ systems to prevent or immediately address any cyber attack.
The whole process is necessarily exhaustive and meticulous, according to Jocson.
“We manage our operational and IT risks by ensuring such risks are thoroughly identified, assessed, monitored, reported, and mitigated. We have defined clear responsibilities, methods, and tools to identify and mitigate various risks. And we have regular self-assessments to help ensure the effectiveness of our approach,” he said.
Jonathan John B. Paz, BPI Enterprise Information Security Officer and Data Privacy Officer, said all this should be complemented by consumers’ actions and the right mindset as well.
“We continually strive to get the word out in social and traditional media on how people can protect themselves from fraud. We believe there are hopeful signs that our efforts are making a difference,” said Paz.
He pointed out that he sees hope when people show more vigilance and when they recognize phishing emails. He said BPI already gets a lot of tip-offs about fake sites from customers.
“We see a number of our clients taking it upon themselves to educate others online about the latest modus operandi. It is a continuing struggle though as the fraudsters do not let up and continue to innovate themselves,” he said.
“We would like to see our customers diligently look to us to learn about the latest threats to online security and apply these habitually. We appreciate very much any help in extending these lessons to as many of their friends as our reach can only go so far, and our message would definitely carry more weight and urgency if these are echoed by people who they know and trust personally.”
The complacent and care-free attitude of consumers toward cyber threats makes the issue of cybersecurity among banks more complicated and difficult. — Ramon Jocson BPI Head of Enterprise Services Segment