Defensor urges NBI to act fast on BDO cyberfraud attack

FILE PHOTO: A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo

MANILA, Philippines — Anakalusugan Partylist Rep. Mike Defensor on Sunday underscored the need for the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to quickly arrest individuals involved in the recent cyberfraud attack against the country’s largest bank, BDO Unibank Inc.

Defensor said that authorities should not discount the possibility that the hackers were merely out to stage a “rehearsal” ahead of potentially bigger attacks against other financial institutions.

“Until and unless the suspects are apprehended and interrogated in custody, we may never know their real motives, aside from the cybertheft of a few million pesos,” Defensor said in a statement.

“Assuming the suspects are planning further attacks elsewhere, then their capture should effectively thwart them,” he added.

Defensor said now that hackers succeeded in breaching the defenses of a bank’s computer system, they now have an idea as to how much time they need to break in and escape with the loot before they are discovered.

“We must also stress that the certainty of getting caught and punished is our best deterrence to other would-be threat actors in cyberspace,” he said.

Six “persons of interest” have been identified in relation to the recent cyberfraud attack involving BDO Unibank Inc., whereby some of the funds were illegally transferred to accounts at UnionBank of the Philippines (Unionbank).

No legal charges have been filed so far but Unionbank has already filed with the NBI and the Philippine National Police information that the bank gathered in relation to funds that were illegally transferred from BDO clients.

EDV