BSE signs pact to strengthen cybersecurity services

Leading stock exchange BSE on Friday said it has signed a pact with security services provider Si Consult to strengthen cybersecurity services and safeguard the interests of stockbrokers.

The move comes after markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in December 2018 put in place a stricter cybersecurity framework for stockbrokers and depository participants amid concerns over possible data breaches.

Sebi had asked brokers and depository participants to formulate a comprehensive cybersecurity and cyber resilience policy document encompassing the framework.

In case applications are offered to customers over the internet by market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) such as NSE’s NOW and BSE’s BEST among others, the responsibility of ensuring cyber resilience on those applications reside with the MIIs and not with the broker or depository participant, it added.

"After a detailed assessment, and capabilities evaluation by BSE, Si Consult has been selected as one of its partners to provide these services to its members," the exchange said in a release.

Shivkumar Pandey, Chief Information Security Officer at BSE said, "Besides adhering to Sebi's guidelines to protect the integrity of data and guard against breaches of privacy, at BSE our constant endeavour is to secure interests of stockbrokers with the help of cutting-edge technologies and security services".

By associating with Si Consult, we will be in a better position to tackle all the challenges pertaining to capital markets ecosystem, he added.

Si Consult offers customised service in areas including managed detection and response, vulnerability management, firewall management, threat intelligence, Digital footprinting and third party risk among others, as per the release.