Credit and Debit Cards: What is the Dark Web Creating Concern in Bangladesh's Banking Sector? | Latest_News
World Latest News.
Bangladesh E-Government Computer Incident Response Team (SERT) says in a report that the information of many debit and credit cards of customers of different banks of the country has been leaked on the dark web.
However, they identified 'risky' cyber security systems of the banking sector as well as customer negligence as a significant factor for such data leakage.
CERT is a government organization that works on computer and internet security issues as well as researches them and advises on risk mitigation. They work with government agencies as well as critical information infrastructure, financial institutions, law enforcement agencies and civil society.
The agency recently released a research report on cyber security in the banking sector, which includes the issue of cardholder information leakage.
Tariq M Barkat Ullah, project director of Cert, told magazinetodayy.blogspot.com that due to the weakness of the bank's networking and the use of low-quality devices, many customers' information has gone to the dark web. Therefore customers will be more aware.
He says the use of credit cards and debit cards has increased due to Covid. But the networking systems of many card issuing banks are riddled with malware and ransomware. Debit cards on the other hand are directly linked to personal bank accounts. As a result, more information is being leaked.
In order to deal with the risks, SERT provides various information related to cyber security to the banks on an average of 9/10 every day and the banks also try to take steps accordingly, he said.
What is the Dark Web?
Tanveer Hasan Joha, a cybercrime expert and teacher at a private university, is working on the cyber security protection of several banks in Bangladesh.
Mr. Hasan says the dark web is, in short, an 'e-commerce of criminals' or a hub for hiring cybercriminals.
That is, dark web is a dark world of the internet and these sites are roamed by masked criminals. Apart from hacking, these criminals are involved in many things like terrorism and pornography.
"The capabilities of those who live on the dark web are very high. They are professional black marketers. There are e-criminals from many countries including Germany, Romania, Italy, India. Their faces are covered but they can be hired to commit crimes," said Mr. Hassan
Accessing the dark web requires a special web browser. In other words, you can't enter these webs with search engines like Google.
However, that particular web browser works just like a normal web browser.
Darknet markets work similarly where illegal products are sold. That is, from hacking software to hacked accounts, weapons, drugs, credit card numbers, many things are bought and sold here.
However, even if the information of Bangladeshi card holders is leaked on the dark web, international hackers will not be able to do much to transfer money through it, because credit card transactions from Bangladesh cannot be done at will due to the instructions of Bangladesh Bank.
However, Mr Hasan feels that there may not be an opportunity to cap international transactions for a very long time.
"If banks do not invest long-term in cyber security, there will be risks in the future. But it is hopeful that several banks have started working to bring their cyber security to international standards," he said.
How information goes on the dark web
Due to the corona epidemic, the use of bank cards has increased in Bangladesh. Many customers mainly use credit and debit cards.
In case of credit card, the customer himself confirms the transaction with the PIN code. But in many cases it is not necessary in case of debit card.
This debit card is linked to the customer's main bank account and when the customer buys something and pays the bill through the debit card, the money stays in the main account.
Customers also use the card for many activities including online shopping, ticket booking, hotel booking. But most consumers are not well aware of its potential risks.
Only a fraction of the entire Internet is used by all search engines combined. The rest are unknown to the general public.
The information of many of them is going to the dark web without their knowledge.
If the card's password is weak or if the bank's Internet management weaknesses are present, criminals lurking in the dark web with malware or ransomware can steal all the cardholder's information.
