Bank of Dastaan: Unlimited Operations Cyber attack

Abstract

BoD is a fictional case inspired by real life incidents. A middle eastern bank faces a cyberattack in the form of ‘unlimited operations’ where hackers gain access to prepaid card data. They use the data to clone the cards making it possible to withdraw large sums of money. A chance error by one of the cashers triggers an opportunity for a response by the security team of the bank. The case highlights the need for enterprise level information security governance with particular emphasis on risk assessment, creating a risk-response plan and/or a business continuity plan. It also focuses on the need to treat information security as part of business strategy and not just technology strategy.