Strengthen cyber security ahead of election: Prof Yunus

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, also chairman of the National Cyber Security Council, on Sunday said the government needs to strengthen its technological capacity ahead of the national election and take strict action against all forms of cybercrime.

The Chief Adviser directed the National Cyber Security Agency to ensure robust cyber security ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election and referendum.

The directive came at a meeting of the National Cyber Security Council held at the State Guest house Jamuna with the Chief Adviser in the chair.

He said the government is working to bring all citizen services on online platforms and many services are already being delivered digitally at home and abroad.

To ensure these services remain secure and uninterrupted, the Chief Adviser said, strengthening cyber security is essential.

Professor Yunus instructed the authorities concerned to give special priority to sectors providing citizen services. “Institutions including the Cyber Security Agency that adopt cyber security measures must regularly update their software and hardware, while the personnel involved must also be made more skilled.”

Institutions and related personnel should be brought under a rating system so that proper evaluation of cyber security and overall performance becomes easier, he said.

Prof Yunus directed the National Cyber Security Agency to play an effective role alongside the judiciary to ensure that no one involved in crimes in the financial sector goes unpunished.

At the meeting, Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant for the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb i said 35 institutions have already been listed as Critical Information Infrastructure and suggested including more institutions in the list.

He stressed the importance of coordination between the National Cyber Security Agency and the BTRC to prevent rumours, misinformation, disinformation and other cybercrimes surrounding the upcoming election.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur said various measures have already been taken to further strengthen cyber security in the banking sector and more initiatives are in the pipeline.

He also praised the initiative to form sectoral Computer Emergency Response Teams.

Member Secretary of the National Cyber Security Council and Director General of the National Cyber Security Agency Dr Md Tayebur Rahman presented the agency’s activities and future action plans through a PowerPoint presentation.

He also detailed the ‘Cyber Incident Reporting and Response System’ designed for receiving complaints of cybercrimes and processing them.

Others present at the meeting included Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul, ICT Secretary Shish Haider Chowdhury, Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam and National Board of Revenue Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan.

Following the promulgation of the Cyber Security Ordinance 2025 on May 21, the National Cyber Security Council was formed on August 26 to ensure cyber security for state institutions and citizens under the amended ordinance.