Be crisis-ready, firewall systems: FM Sitharaman to banks amid India-Pakistan escalation
Sitharaman on Friday convened a meeting with managing directors and CEOs of public and private sector banks and insurance companies.
She directed banks to ensure that citizens and businesses do not suffer under any circumstances, and give priority to seamless cash availability at ATMs, uninterrupted UPI and internet banking services, and continued access to essential banking facilities. The minister also directed insurance firms to make timely claim settlements and continued customer service.
Sitharaman further directed banks to conduct regular audits of cybersecurity systems and data centres to ensure that all digital and core banking infrastructure is fully firewalled and monitored round the clock for preventing breaches or any hostile cyber activity.
In its statement, the finance ministry said banks were also asked to coordinate in real time with the Reserve Bank of India, CERT-In, and relevant government agencies to ensure robust and agile information exchange and response.
Sitharaman further instructed banks to designate two dedicated senior officials at their headquarters, one for reporting all cyber-related matters and the other to ensure operational matters, including the functioning of bank branches and availability of cash in ATMs. Both officers should report any incident to CERT-In/relevant agencies and DFS on a real-time basis, the statement noted.
The meeting was also attended by senior officials from the ministry's Department of Financial Services, CERT-In, RBI, IRDAI and NPCI. It focused on reviewing the banking sector's operational and cybersecurity preparedness, including digital public-facing applications such as internet banking and UPI.
According to the finance ministry, bank MDs & CEOs informed that cybersecurity measures have been reinforced throughout the banking system. Anti-DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) systems have been implemented by banks to protect against large scale cyber attacks.
'To guarantee institutional readiness, mock drills have been held encompassing cybersecurity and disaster recovery scenarios at the highest levels,' the statement noted, adding that banks further apprised that phishing attempts are being actively watched, and staff members have received several internal alerts to increase awareness.
Bank officials said their security operations centres and network operations centres are fully operational and on high alert. These centres are coordinating closely with CERT-In and the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), facilitating real-time data sharing and threat monitoring.
The finance minister also expressed deep concern about the safety of bank employees and their families working at branches in border areas. She directed banks to ensure adequate safety of these employees by effectively coordinating with the security agencies.
Sitharaman also mentioned that sponsor banks should ensure that RRBs are well-supported during these times and hand-hold them for any issues that they are facing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
White House aide calls Los Angeles anti-ICE protests an 'insurrection'
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior White House aide Stephen Miller on Saturday condemned protests in downtown Los Angeles against federal immigration raids as an "insurrection" against the United States. Helmeted police in riot gear engaged in a tense confrontation with protesters on Friday night after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted enforcement operations in the city and arrested at least 44 people on immigration violations. "An insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States," Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, wrote on X. Miller, an immigration hardliner, was responding to video footage on X showing a large number of people protesting in downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said it had not made any arrests related to the demonstration. FBI deputy director Dan Bongino posted on X that they were reviewing evidence from the protests. "We are working with the U.S. Attorney's Office to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice," Bongino said. "The Right to assemble and protest does not include a license to attack law enforcement officers, or to impede and obstruct our lawful immigration operations." President Donald Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, with the White House setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants per day. But the sweeping immigration crackdown has also included people legally residing in the country, including some with permanent residence, and has led to legal challenges. Television news footage earlier on Friday showed caravans of unmarked military-style vehicles and vans loaded with uniformed federal agents streaming through Los Angeles streets as part of the immigration enforcement operation. "Forty-four people (were arrested) on immigration charges," Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe, a spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations told Reuters on Saturday. The LAPD did not take part in the immigration enforcement. It was deployed to quell civil unrest after crowds protesting the deportation raids spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on the walls of a federal court building and gathered outside a nearby jail where some of the detainees were reportedly being held. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in a statement condemned the immigration raids. "I am deeply angered by what has taken place," Bass said. "These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this." (Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; editing by Diane Craft)
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Supreme Court allows DOGE staffers to access Social Security data
June 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing members of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency to access personal Social Security Administration data. On Friday, the Court's six conservatives granted an emergency application filed by the Trump administration to lift an injunction issued by a federal judge in Maryland. Opposing the injunction were the three liberal justices: Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. There are 69 million retirees, disabled workers, dependents and survivors who receive Social Security benefits, representing 28.75% of the U.S. population. In a separate two-page order issued Friday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration for now to shield DOGE from freedom of information requests seeking thousands of pages of material. This vote also was 6-3 with no written dissenting opinions. In the two-page unsigned order on access, the court said: "We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work." The conservatives are Chief Justice John Roberts, and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Three of them were nominated by President Donald Trump during his first term. U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander, appointed by President Barack Obama, had ruled that DOGE staffers had no need to access the specific data. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Virginia, declined to block Hollander's decision. The lawsuit was filed by progressive group Democracy Forward on behalf of two unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the American Federation of Teachers, as well as the Alliance for Retired Americans. They alleged broader access to personal information would violate a federal law, the Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. "This is a sad day for our democracy and a scary day for millions of people," the groups said in a statement. "This ruling will enable President Trump and DOGE's affiliates to steal Americans' private and personal data. Elon Musk may have left Washington, D.C., but his impact continues to harm millions of people. We will continue to use every legal tool at our disposal to keep unelected bureaucrats from misusing the public's most sensitive data as this case moves forward." Social Security Works posted on X: "No one in history -- no commissioner, no president, no one -- has ever had the access that these DOGE minions have." White House spokesperson Liz Huston after the ruling told NBC News that "the Supreme Court allowing the Trump Administration to carry out commonsense efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse and modernize government information systems is a huge victory for the rule of law." Brown Jackson wrote a nine-page dissenting opinion that the "Government fails to substantiate its stay request by showing that it or the public will suffer irreparable harm absent this Court's intervention. In essence, the 'urgency' underlying the government's stay application is the mere fact that it cannot be bothered to wait for the litigation process to play out before proceeding as it wishes." She concluded her dissent by writing: "The Court opts instead to relieve the Government of the standard obligations, jettisoning careful judicial decisionmaking and creates grave privacy risks for millions of Americans in the process." Kathleen Romig, who worked as a senior adviser at the agency during the Biden administration, told CNN that Americans should be concerned about how DOGE has handled highly sensitive data so far. She said the personal data runs "from cradle to grave." "While the appeals court considers whether DOGE is violating the law, its operatives will have 'God-level' access to Social Security numbers, earnings records, bank routing numbers, mental and reproductive health records and much more," Romig, who now is director of Social Security and disability policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. When Trump became president again on Jan. 20, he signed an executive order establishing DOGE with the goal of "modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity." Nearly a dozen DOGE members have been installed at the agency, according to court filings. In all, there are about 90 DOGE workers. DOGE, which was run by billionaire Elon Musk until he left the White House one week ago, wants to modernize systems and detect waste and fraud at the agency. "These teams have a business need to access the data at their assigned agency and subject the government's records to much-needed scrutiny," Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the court motion. The data includes Social Security numbers, date and place of birth, gender, addresses, marital and parental status, parents' names, lifetime earnings, bank account information, immigration and work authorization status, health conditions for disability benefits and use of Medicare. SSA also has data-sharing agreements with the IRS and the Department of Health and Human Services. The plaintiffs wrote: "The agency is obligated by the Privacy Act and its own regulations, practices, and procedures to keep that information secure -- and not to share it beyond the circle of those who truly need it." Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano, who was sworn in to the post on May 7, said in a statement: that"The Supreme Court's ruling is a major victory for American taxpayers. The Social Security Administration will continue driving forward modernization efforts, streamlining government systems, and ensuring improved service and outcomes for our beneficiaries." On May 23, Roberts temporarily put lower court decisions on hold while the Supreme Court considered what next steps to take. Musk called Social Security "the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time" during an interview with Joe Rogan on Feb. 28. The Social Security system, which started in 1935, transfers current workers' payroll tax payments to people who are already retired. The payroll tax is a mandatory tax paid by employees and employers. The total current tax rate is 12.4%. There is a separate 2.9% tax for Medicare.
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dozens arrested in ICE raids leading to LA protests
June 7 (UPI) -- Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents used riot gear as they clashed with protestors during a series of raids in Los Angeles where they ended up detaining more than 40 people. Separate raids by ICE agents earlier this week at a Home Depot and two separate clothing outlet stores drew crowds of protestors on Friday. In some instances, the federal agents carried shields, military-style rifles and shotguns while conducting the raids. The department later confirmed it was executing four federal search warrants at the three locations. "Approximately 44 people were administratively arrested and one arrest for obstruction," a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told KTLA TV. "The investigation remains ongoing, updates will follow as appropriate." Service Employees International Union leader David Huerta was among those detained. The SEIU local president was charged with obstruction of justice. "Federal agents were executing a lawful judicial warrant at a LA worksite this morning when David Huerta deliberately obstructed their access by blocking their vehicle. He was arrested for interfering with federal officers and will face arraignment in federal court on Monday," U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli wrote on X. "Let me be clear: I don't care who you are -- if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted. No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties," he wrote. People can be heard on video yelling at the crowds in Spanish, and telling them not to sign paperwork or speak to federal officials. By Friday evening, the Los Angeles Police Department declared unlawful assembly near the Civic Center in the northern part of the city's downtown core, issuing a city-wide alert that forced all officers to remain on-duty. LAPD officers were later forced to use tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse crowds in the city. At one point, protesters were reportedly throwing large pieces of concrete during the unrest The alert was cancelled around midnight Friday. "As mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wrote on X. "These tactics sew terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. My office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this."
