Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) President and FPCCI Businessmen Panel SVP Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said that the recent ATM fraud in which hundreds of account holders lost their money has exposed weaknesses in the banking system.
The central bank should immediately direct all the banks to upgrade their IT security to international standards to safeguard the money and confidential information of the accountholders, he said.
Zahid Hussain said that many countries were against CPEC and they were trying their best to embarrass Pakistan and tarnish its image by every possible mean which also included hacking of banking system.
The data of important departments could also be hacked to use it against Pakistan which should be taken seriously by the authorities and internet security should be declared a matter of the national security, he demanded.
The veteran business leader said that over ten million people were using ATM cards while the monthly transactions through plastic cards have surpassed Rs 1 trillion, therefore, these people deserved security otherwise ATM cards would lose popularity.
He said that the banking companies that failed to improve their security systems should face harsh action by the regulator so that an example could be set. Banks could be asked to enhance the number of ATM card pin code from four to eight digits and the authorities could consider induction of biometric verification before every transaction, he opined.
