Rwandan banks critically vulnerable to hackers

Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) last Friday called on Rwandan financial institutions to be carefull of increasing cyber attacks in the region, particularly in banking institutions where defences are inadequate.

Speaking at the national forum on cyber and financial crimes in the Rwandan capital Kigali, John Rwangombwa made these statements that

“Criminals are constantly developing new techniques to cyber crime, we need to keep a constant review on activities carried out in banking institutions because they are highly vulnerable to cyber attacks,”

He added that cyber related crimes are relatively a new phenomenon in Rwanda, saying that the existing cases remain a threat to the national economy and development.

The governor said that Rwandan banking sector is working on creating a secure investment environment for financial sector to thrive and achieve economic development.

However, Emmanuel Gasana, inspector general of police of Rwanda, said that cyber crimes remain a global threat and Rwanda is ready to avert the threat.

“We are aware of cyber criminals who quietly enter networks to access valuable data, disrupt activities, rob financial institutions and blackmail companies. We have put in place several cyber control measures to counter these crimes,” he added.

In 2016, Rwanda thwarted more than 1,000 cyber attacks daily before they could affect targeted individuals, companies and institutions, according to the central bank.

A survey conducted by cyber security company Kaspersky Lab in January 2016 indicated that most businesses across Africa had been hit hard by cyber crime.

According to the survey, in East Africa, Kenya is the most attacked by cyber criminals with businesses in the country losing as much as 146 million dollars every year due to cyber crime.