RBI asks lenders to put in place cyber security policy

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday said the country's lenders must put in place a cyber security policy "immediately" in order to combat internet threats and asked the sector to identify risks according to the degree of potential danger.

"It is essential to enhance the resilience of the banking system by improving the current defences in addressing cyber risks," the RBI said in a statement.

"Banks should immediately put in place a cyber-security policy elucidating the strategy containing an appropriate approach to combat cyber threats."

The central bank asked lenders to specify potential risks as "low, moderate, high and very high" and reiterated that the lenders must report all "unusual cyber-security incidents" to the RBI.

The new cyber-security policy should be separate from the bank's broader information technology policy, the RBI said.

The RBI said a recent increase in Internet attacks on financial institutions underlined the "urgent" need to put in place a robust cyber-security framework in the banking system.

Central banks globally have been asking their lenders to beef up their cyber security protection systems after $81 million was stolen from a Bangladesh central bank account with the New York Federal Reserve, in one of the biggest-ever cyber heists.