IN compliance with new security standards and part of measures to aid safety of electronic payment systems of its customers, Access Bank Plc has been officially presented with a certificate of compliance to the effect.Specifically, the bank was at the weekend presented with the ISO 27001:2005 Certificate for information security management.Speaking during the official presentation of ISO 27001:2005 Certificate to Access Bank Plc, in Lagos, Director, Banking Supervision, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, emphasised the need for banks to ensure the deployment of an effective control mechanism for their Information Technology infrastructure to checkmate cyber crimes and ensure the safety of electronic transactions.Martins, who was represented by Mr. Sola Ogunmoroti, said that since Information Technology was a major driver of banks' activities, especially with the cashless initiative, there was a need for regulatory focus on control built about around Information Technology infrastructures.She said, 'transparency and accountability is posing serious challenges in many jurisdictions and this has brought to the fore, the need for banks not to downplay the importance of Information Technology.'In some cases, control is often disjointed and without effective infrastructure. The CBN has become aware of the need to wage war against cyber crimes, hence the emphasis on certification of banks' information security management system.'She commended Access Bank for the certification and urged other banks to emulate the bank in this regard, noting that the certification of bank was coming at a time the world had realised the importance of security of transactions.The certificate was presented to Access Bank by the Technology Platform Business Resource Limited on behalf of the British Standard Institute, (BSI) as part of implementation of information security management systems as represented by the ISO 27001:2005 certification.The certification gives a systematic approach to minimising the risk of unauthorised access or loss of information and ensuring the effective deployment of protective measures for securing the same.It also provides a framework for organisations to manage their compliance with legal and other requirements and improve performance in managing information securely.Commenting on the certification, Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Aigbojie Aig-Imoukhuede, represented by its Executive Director, Mr. Victor Etuokwu, said that the certification was not an end in itself, rather a recursive process towards enhance electronic payment security and part of the bank's compliance efforts with certain regulatory requirements.He said that the certification had put fresh responsibilities on the bank, adding that it would continue to develop processes that would see it deliver cutting edge, high quality and safe banking services to its customers.
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