The Reserve Bank of India has appointed a retired IPS officer Nandkumar Saravade an expert in bank fraud and terrorism cases, as head of its IT subsidary that is tasked to look at its cyber security issues. He is the chief executive of Data Security Council of India currently, the premier industry body on data security set up by Nasscom.
Last month RBI announced the setting up of a separate information technology subsidiary to strengthen its cyber security preparedness in the wake of the recent Bangladesh’s central bank heist. There cyber attackers stole $81 million allegedly by sending fraudulent payment instruction through SWIFT financial platform. The attackers had also proposed fake transactions worth another $850 million, which were finally blocked by compromising codes of SWIFT financial platform, which is at the center of global financial system.
RBI Said that “The IT subsidiary would focus on IT and cyber security related issues of the financial sector and assist in IT systems audit of RBI and its regulated entities; advise and manage internal or system wise IT projects.” Saravade served the Central Bureau of Investigation as an expert in bank frauds and terrorism cases during his IPS career. He worked as an independent advisor for fraud detection and cyber security at ICICI Bank, Citi Bank and Ernst and Young after the retirement in 2008.
