PPI issuers asked to conduct security audit to check fraud

At a time, when the govt is urging people to go in for digital transactions in a big way

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday asked banks and companies issuing Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) to conduct special security audit saying any cyber attack could prove dampener at a time when the government is urging people to go in for digital transactions in a big way.

With the withdrawal of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the use of alternative modes of payment, specifically e-wallets, has gained momentum, the RBI said.

"While all efforts should continue to be made by entities for on-boarding new customers and merchants, it needs to be borne in mind that any kind of cyber security incident affecting the digital channels and products, particularly at this juncture, may have significant system-wide ramifications and act as a dampener for the adoption of digital products by public at large," the central bank said.

As the rapid escalation in e-payments may put significant pressure on the existing digital infrastructure, RBI said, "it is imperative that the integrity of our digital ecosystem is maintained by ensuring that they remain robust and fully secure".

"All authorised entities and banks issuing PPIs in the country are advised to carry out a special audit by the empanelled auditors of Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) on a priority basis and take immediate steps thereafter to comply with the findings of the audit report," RBI said.

The audit should cover compliance in line with best security practices, specifically the application security lifecycle and patch/vulnerability.

Also "take appropriate measures on mitigating phishing attacks considering that the new customers are likely to be first time users of the digital channels. Safety and security best practices may be disseminated to the customers periodically" the RBI added.

The scope of the System Audit includes evaluation of the hardware structure, operating systems and critical applications, security and controls in place.