THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) confirmed on Friday that it is in the final stages of issuing a circular mandating the adoption of robust fraud management systems and temporary holding of funds as part of banks’ Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD).
In a virtual briefing on Friday, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the circular will be among the controls aimed at preventing or minimizing losses from fraudulent activities.
Just earlier this month, the country’s largest bank—BDO Unibank Inc.—became the target of cybercrime, with clients losing an estimated P50 million through online banking.
Apart from the circular, the BSP said they are developing the Financial Services Cyber Resilience Plan (or FSCRP), which will serve as the primary and cohesive framework to promote trust and cooperation, intelligence sharing and adoption of cybersecurity best practices and standards among local banks.
Diokno also said the BSP is in the initial stages of implementing a holistic “Governance, Risk, and Compliance” solution on cybersecurity aimed at strengthening BSP’s own cybersecurity posture as well as BSP’s cybersecurity supervision and oversight capabilities.
“The BSP keenly monitors cyber threats amid heightened digitalization during the pandemic, and now in the Christmas season,” the governor said.
Based on BSP’s active cyberthreat surveillance, the top cyber incidents in 2021 pertain to account takeover or identity theft, phishing attacks and other cyber fraud relying on social engineering tactics.
“As digital transformation and cyberthreats simultaneously evolve, rest assured that the BSP shall work closely with BSP-supervised financial institutions and stakeholders on pioneering and cohesive solutions while ensuring the safety and resilience of the financial system, as the country transitions into the New Economy,” the governor said.