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Bangko Sentral approves sanctions vs BDO, UnionBank over 2021 hacking

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA (UPDATE) - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has approved sanctions against BDO Unibank and UnionBank of the Philippines over the hacking incident that affected depositors in December last year. </p><p>In a statement released Thursday, the BSP said it has concluded its investigation into the unauthorized access of accounts with BDO and fund transfers mostly to accounts with Union Bank.</p><p>&quot;Based on the results of the investigation, the Monetary Board (MB) approved the imposition of sanctions on BDO and UBP to ensure that both banks will swiftly address the issues,&quot; the BSP said. </p><p>The central bank however did not specify what sanctions it was imposing against the 2 banks. </p><p>In December last year, many BDO customers complained over social media that funds were withdrawn from their accounts without their knowledge. </p><p>BDO said hackers used a &quot;sophisticated fraud technique&quot; last December 2021 to take advantage of a web service that was due to be phased out.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/12/14/21/bdo-says-reimbursing-close-to-700-clients-in-fraud">BDO says reimbursing close to 700 clients; to shoulder losses in cyber fraud</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/12/21/21/bdo-clients-claiming-fraud-ask-bank-for-refund">BDO clients claiming fraud ask bank to reconsider refund denial</a></li></ul><p>“This incident is a reminder that we should continue to enhance our defenses against cyberthreat actors to protect the integrity of the financial system and the interests of depositors,” said BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno.</p><p>The BSP said its investigation recognized the corrective actions undertaken by both banks related to the cyber incident, including reimbursement by BDO of its affected clients. </p><p>&quot;The sanctions imposed emphasize the importance of continuously enhancing risk management systems involving cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, and combating terrorism and proliferation financing,&quot; the central bank said. </p><p>&quot;The sanctions also reinforce the need for banks to take a proactive stance in ensuring that their depositors are adequately protected,&quot; the BSP added.</p><p>UnionBank said it cooperated with BDO and the BSP over the investigation into the hacking incident. </p><p>“In fact, with swift action we were ablet to help BDO recover a sizeable amount so that it could return it to its customers,” UnionBank said in a statement. </p><p>The Aboitiz-led bank added that “there were no monetary penalties” and that all the recommendations of the BSP to avoid similar incidents had been implemented. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/12/25/21/treat-customers-fairly-bsp-tells-banks-amid-bdo-controversy">Bangko Sentral says banks&#x27; terms and conditions should be ‘not unfair’</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/business/12/13/21/what-to-do-if-victimized-by-fraudulent-bdo-transactions">Nagoyo ka rin ba ni Mark? What to do if victimized by fraudulent BDO transactions</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1902754" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has approved sanctions against BDO Unibank and UnionBank over the hacking incident that affected depositors in December last year. 