Unless the financial institutions in Nigeria begin to show seriousness in deploying the latest version of Windows Servers, the country’s over 12,000 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) may be vulnerable to cyber attacks, which might lead to loss of revenues, beginning from next year, according to New Telegraph’s investigation. Nigerian banks lost a total of N159 billion to electronic fraud between 2000 and the first quarter of 2013, according to the Nigerian Inter-bank Settlements Systems (NIBSS) data.
In 2003 alone, CBN’s Chief Information Security Officer, Mr Taiwo Longe, said an estimated N40 billion was lost to various cases of cyber frauds by the commercial banks. It was learnt that the potential increased vulnerability that may set in next year is coming on the heels of Microsoft’s announcement that it would stop all forms of supports for Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2, as from July 14, 2014. This means that financial institutions would need to migrate all their payment applications currently running on the existing Windows Servers 2003 to newer versions of Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012 or Azure. Windows Server is the Windows Operating System (OS) on which all ATMs of the banks in the country are running currently.
It was gathered that apart from the over 12,000 ATMs already deployed by the commercial banks in the country, there are over 25 million ATM cards in the circulation using the machines, according to figure from the CBN. Experts say Microsoft’s plan to stop further support for the Windows Server 2003 means that all forms of update that can protect the ATMs from possible cyber attacks will be withdrawn and any bank that continues to use the old Windows Server 2003 exposes itself to cyber risks.
However, New Telegraph checks have revealed that most banks in the country are yet to begin ‘serious moves’ to proactively deploy the new Windows Servers. “I am not aware that the banks are already taking this announcement seriously for now as most of their systems still run on Windows Server 2003 as we speak. I don’t know why they should be vacillating in deploying the new Windows Server version. In our bank, we have not started the process,” a source in the IT unit of a bank said.
The source, however, stated that banks are always very sensitive to technology investment because it costs them a lot of money in their operations without the additional cost necessarily being passed onto the banking customers. “Though, banks are mindful of their technology investment, I know they also want convenience in their operations and I guess that they just want to move close to the July 14,2015 date, which is still some months from now before they will deploy the new Windows Server,” a First Bank of Nigeria’s branch manager in Ibadan told New Telegraph.
In an interview over the weekend, Chief Executive Officer, Rack Centre, Mr Tunde Coker, said that technology is very key in the banking industry, stressing that financial institutions cannot afford to ignore the deployment of any technology that will keep them afloat in business. “This is the time for banks to begin to design measures and strategise on how they can migrate from their existing Windows Server 2003 to new versions.
Come to think of it, If you’re told that a particular anti-virus will not get updates again at a particular time and that further use of such antivirus after its lifespan will cause harm to your systems, will you still install it on your computer?” Coker said while there have been series of cyber threats against banking operations, which the banks themselves continue to struggle to contain. The current situation, where they have been clearly informed that further supports for Windows Server 2003 as from next year will be withdrawn means that they should start embracing the new technology to avoid possible disruption in their operations.”
According to an industry analyst, Mr Rarsack Olaegebe, “traditional banking is not longer fashionable as technology is taking over banking activates and for me, I want to believe that no bank can afford to toy with what will give it an edge in its operation.” Also speaking in a telephone interview, a cloud technology expert, Mr Gbenga Iluyemi, said that with the plan by Microsoft to stop supports for Windows Server 2003 by next year, “lack of compliance poses a big threat to local financial services partnership with global payment platforms such as Visa, Master- Cards, American Express and legal right to continue with card services.” Iluyemi, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Wragby Business Solutions & Technologies Limited, urged the Nigerian banks and other financial services organisations to deploy AppZero for seamlessly migrating their Windows Server 2003 to the newer versions, saying this will make them ensure their migration in record time.
Iluyemi, whose company specialises in applications migration, said his company has partnered AppZero, an accredited Microsoft partner, to provide seamless migration options for banks to move their banking applications from their exiting servers version to the newer versions. According to him, “with AppZero and Wragby’s up-level application, banks and other organisations in Nigeria can quickly and easily move their applications from old, bare metal machines running on outdated versions of the Windows Operating System to any server, anywhere- cloud or datacenter, running newer operating systems such as Windows Server 2008 or Windows 2012.”
He stated that AppZero and Wragby’s solution moves the applications in much less time than it would take to install them. According to him, AppZero lets client move that application onto a new operating system, thus making the organisations benefit from technological advancements such as Bilocker, virtualisation, private, hybrid cloud and disaster recovery. “AppZero and Wragby’s technology identifies, extracts and moves enterprise Windows Server applications without adding software on the source or production sever and with no changes on the application. Because AppZero and Wragby move just the applications, it is clouddependent, hypervisor-agonistic and perfectly suited for modernisation of the OS and supporting infrastructure,” he said.
Nigeria banks continue to lose millions of naira to cases of cyber threats, which, experts say may heighten if the banks are not deploying latest version of technology t run their operations. Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the E-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), Mrs Onajite, has called on the banks to deploy the right technology that can shield them from possible cyber attacks. “If a technology is old, the next thing if for it to be changed and we would encourage the banks to make technology investment a priority so as to sustain that banking public’s confidence in the nascent cashless scheme in the country,” she added.
