Atul Kumar Goel takes charge as 'officer on special duty' in PNB

Punjab National Bank on Saturday said Atul Kumar Goel has taken charge as an 'officer on special duty', before taking over as its new MD and CEO next month.

Pursuant to the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India Notification dated December 28, 2021, Atul Kumar Goel has assumed office as Officer on Special Duty in Punjab National Bank, with effect from January 1, 2022, PNB said in a regulatory filing.

Goel will assume office as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank with effect from February 1, 2022, upon the superannuation of S S Mallikarjuna Rao.

Rao's superannuation as MD and CEO of the bank is on January 31, 2022.

Source : Business Standard

PNB launches android app for differently-abled employees

Punjab National Bank (PNB) said it has launched PNB Pride-CRMD module tool, an android-based application for differently-abled employees, to monitor and effectively follow up with the special mention account (SMA) borrowers.

This tool shall be compatible with iOS also very soon, it said. SMA accounts are stressed loans recognized early, enabling banks to initiate timely remedial actions, and preventing such borrowers from slipping to non-performing asset (NPA).

PNB said its Pride Module has built-in talkback software that allows the visually impaired to access the system independently and enables them to get in touch with the customers simply by tapping on their phones. The app aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities, it said, adding that the platform opens new vistas of opportunities for ‘PNB Warriors’ with visual or any other physical impairment, helping them to make a valuable and tangible contribution.

Vijay Dube, executive director, Punjab National Bank, emphasized on the abilities of differently-abled staff members and utilization of their skills in the conceptualization of PNB warriors and implementation of PNB Pride.

“The development of PNB Pride CRMD module was through a participative model and feedback received from differently abled staff members were incorporated in the module. The module is specifically developed with focus on our visually-impaired employees so that they are able to work with convenience and contribute to the business and collections in loan accounts," said Dube.

Source: Live mint

PNB data breach: Bank denies claims, issues a four-point clarification note

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has denied claims made in a cyber security firm's report that the personal data of the bank's millions of customers was breached due to a loophole in its system.

According to the report by the cyber security firm Cyberx9, a vulnerability in the server of PNB allegedly exposed the personal and financial information of its about 180 million customers for about seven months. CyberX9 has claimed that the vulnerability provided access to the entire digital banking system of PNB with administrative control.

Meanwhile, the bank has confirmed the glitch but denied any exposure of critical data due to the vulnerability.

1) We have thoroughly checked our ICT systems those on Internet-facing and operating in the background at PNB. There has been no breach of systems and pilferage of any personal data of any of our customers and account holders of PNB. 

2) It is an established fact that hackers regularly attempt to penetrate every and all Internet-facing systems anywhere in the world. PNB has implemented stringent security controls in all our ICT systems. The reported attempt of the perpetrator was monitored and checked. All our critical ICT systems dealing with banking transactions are kept in a secure zone, called DM zone with multiple layers of protection. 

3) Bank has deployed Data leak prevention solutions that prevent any unauthorized data to be sent through emails. The said zone does not permit unauthorised access to anyone including internal staff. The ICT systems are monitored round the clock by competent staff at the security operation centre. The data at rest and transit are encrypted using proprietary algorithms. 

Source: Livemint

PNB customers' data exposed for seven months due to server vulnerability: Report

Critical financial and personal information of 180 million Punjab National Bank (PNB) customers was at risk for around seven months due to a vulnerability in the lender's servers, said cybersecurity firm CyberX9. The vulnerability provided access to the entire digital banking system of the bank with administrative control, the agency claimed.

Meanwhile, PNB confirmed that its servers had a glitch, but assured that no critical data was exposed due to it. PNB stated “customer data/applications are not affected due to this" and “server has been shut down as a precautionary measure."

“Punjab National Bank kept severely compromising the security of funds, personal and financial information of over 180 million (all) its customers for about the last 7 months. PNB only woke up and fixed the vulnerability when CyberX9 discovered the vulnerability and notified
PNB through CERT-In and NCIIPC," CyberX9 founder and MD Himanshu Pathak told PTI.

CyberX9 research team discovered a very critical security issue in PNB which was leading to admin access to internal servers hence exposing a massive number of banks' systems nationwide open for cyber-attacks for the last about seven months, Pathak said.

He added that vulnerability was found in an exchange server interconnected with other exchanges and shares all access, including access to all email addresses which results in access to all email addresses.

“The vulnerability which we discovered was leading to the highest level of admin privilege in PNB's exchange servers. If you gain access to Domain Controller through an exchange server then the doors very easily open to make any computer accessible in the network," Pathak said.

“These computers even include those that are being used in their branches and other departments," he further added.

Meanwhile, PNB assured that the affected server had no sensitive or critical data. The bank denied CyberX9's claim on the threat to customer's data due to the vulnerability.

Source: Livemint

Punjab National Bank raises Rs 1,919 crore via bonds

State-owned Punjab National Bank on Thursday said it has raised Rs 1,919 crore by issuing Basel compliant bonds. The bank has issued and allotted Basel III compliant tier-II bonds at a coupon of 7.10 per cent per annum aggregating to Rs 1,919 crore on a private placement basis, it said in a BSE filing.

Source: Economic Times