April  10: Hackers have started becoming active in the country, taking advantage of the lockdown imposed by the government since March 24.  A group of hackers have hacked the mobile application and software of Foodmandu while Vianet has also fallen victim to the hackers.

Fearing that hackers could also target banks and financial institutions (BFIs), Nepal Rastra Bank has cautioned BFIs and their customers to adopt safety measures against hacking.

The central bank has received numerous complaints from customers regarding hacking of their Viber, Whatsapp and Messenger accounts through which the hackers get access to eSewa wallet and request the customers to transfer amount as donations. Nepal Rastra Bank has warned the public not to fall into such traps an provide any details of their bank accounts and passwords even if someone requests such details posing as bank employees.

The central bank has instructed BFIs to stay alert and inform their customers about the possible threats from hackers.

Executive Director at the Payments System Department of NRB Rewati Prasad Nepal informed New Business Age that the central bank has been verbally appealing to BFIs and payment gateways to increase their security against cyber threats.

“We have received numerous complaints of customers getting requests for financial assistance through eSewa and other digital payment gateways as well as customers being asked for their email, phone number and login details from unidentified sources,” said Nepal.

“Hackers are becoming active at this time,” he added.

Realizing the threats from hackers, Nepal Investment Bank Limited has cautioned its customers not to give their passwords or ATM and mobile banking pin numbers to anyone.

Meanwhile, President of Nepal Bankers Association Bhuvan Kumar Dahal opined that BFIs must step up their security from cyber threats during  lockdown.