Dominguez Sees Bank Hacking Issues Resolved

Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III is optimistic that regulators and the banks that have clients who reported experiencing hacking attacks on their accounts in recent days are taking appropriate actions to address the issue.

Photo Insert: A 2019 Q and A with then BSP Governor Nestor Espinilla Jr., current BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, who was DBM Secretary at the time, and DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez

PNA reported that In a Viber message to journalists, Dominguez said he is “very aware of the complaints of many depositors” and has raised the issue to officials of concerned banks as well as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) “as early as two weeks ago.”

“I am confident that they are all taking the appropriate actions on a timely basis to protect the banks’ clients and bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said.

Dominguez also disclosed that “as early as 18 months ago, all the government financial institutions embarked upon a program to strengthen all their cybersecurity defenses in anticipation of precisely this type of criminal activity.”

Over the weekend, clients of the Sy-led Banco de Oro posted on social media that they are having problems accessing their accounts online while some claimed unauthorized transactions.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno earlier said monetary authorities were monitoring the developments and are “in close coordination” with BDO as well as the Union Bank of the Philippines (Unionbank) “to ensure that remedial measures are being undertaken.”

“BSP will do everything to ensure the safety and integrity of the financial system as well as the protection of financial consumers,” he said.

This, as some depositors claim that proceeds of the unauthorized transactions were deposited to Unionbank accounts.

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Q and A with BSP Governor Nestor Espinilla Jr., DBM Secretary Benjamin Diokno and DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez.