Banks have increased their investment in IT security. In 2019, 5.6 percent of the total IT budget was allocated to IT security while in 2020, about 9.5 percent of the total IT budget is allocated to IT security, said a study report.
Experts opine that banks are increasing their allocations for IT security due to the increasing awareness of cyber attacks in the banking sector.
The observations came up in an online review workshop, held on Wednesday at the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) on Wednesday.
Ahmed Jamal, Chairman of BIBM Executive Committee and Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank was present in the Review Workshop as the chief guest.
Mohammed Sohail Mustafa CFA, Associate Professor & Director (Training & Certification Program) of BIBM delivered welcome address while Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Director General of BIBM Chaired the Program.
While addressing, Deputy Governor said, IT in banking sector refers to the use of sophisticated information and communication technologies together with computer science to enable banks to offer better services to its customers in a secure, reliable and affordable manner and sustain competitive advantage over other banks.
It has now become impossible to separate ICT from the business of the banks and the financial institutions he added. Director General of BIBM said, output of the study along with opinions and observations made today will help BB to take future actions.
Md. Shihab Uddin Khan, Associate Professor of BIBM presented a paper styled “IT Operations of Banks” in the workshop.
Other members of the research team are Md. Mahbubur Rahman Alam, Associate Professor of BIBM; Kaniz Rabbi, Assistant Professor of BIBM; Md. Foysal Hasan, Lecturer of BIBM; Engr. Mohammad Jamal Uddin Mazumder, Senior Executive Vice President of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited.
Dr. Barkat-e-Khuda, Dr. Muzzafer Ahmed Chair Professor of BIBM & Former Professor of Dhaka University; Debdulal Roy, Executive Director (Programing) of Bangladesh Bank; Md. Arfan Ali, President and Managing Director of Bank Asia Limited; S.M. Mainuddin Chowdhury also spoke on the occasion as designated discussants.
A good number of participants including senior bank executives, academicians, media representatives, faculty members of BIBM took part in the online review workshop.