November 3: The Insurance Board has initiated discussion to counter the threats of cyber attacks, which have surfaced in the banking and financial sector of Nepal of late.

The Insurance Board took such initiative after the recent hacking of SWIFT system of NIC Asia Bank in which the bank reportedly lost millions of rupees in its foreign transaction.

The board said it will prepare a directive on cyber security after holding discussions with the concerned authorities.

Acknowledging that the insurance sector is not an exception to cyber attacks, the board held a meeting with the CEOs of all the insurance companies of the country on Thursday, November 2.

The board’s Information Technology engineer Dhruba Gyawali presented a paper on cyber security alert during the discussion organised by the board. He urged the insurance companies to hire trusted person and to check after his background before assigning the person with the responsibility of handling SWIFT system.

The program coordinator Purna Thapa urged the companies to use authorised software of word and excel in order to avoid hacking. The board also suggested all the companies to keep a back-up.