Hyderabad: After a detailed investigation by the Hyderabad City Police, the Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 65 lakhs on the AP Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank for non-compliance of cyber security provisions.
In January 2022, a hacker had breached the bank’s systems, looting an amount of Rs 12.48 crores.
The bank had not complied with provisions of the Cyber Security Framework for Primary (Urban) cooperative banks, the police said.
According to the police, the hacker used a series of cleverly disguised phishing emails to trick the bank’s employees. Employees’ systems were compromised after opening these emails, providing the hackers with full access to the bank’s network.
Cybercriminals hack servers of Hyderabad bank, transfer Rs 12 crore
However, investigations by the Hyderabad City Police’s cyber crime wing revealed the bank’s failure to implement cyber security measures.
This included RBI-mandated security measures like an anti-phishing application, intrusion prevention and detection systems, and real-time threat defense and management systems, the police said.
During the course of the investigation of the case several perpetrators, including Nigerian nationals, were arrested, police said.
