FM Nirmala Sitharaman asks banks to bolster cyber defences, report threats amid rising AI risks

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asked banks to prioritise strengthening their cyber defences, promptly report suspicious digital activity, and engage top cybersecurity experts amid concerns over emerging risks linked to recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), according to a finance ministry statement posted on X.

Chairing a high-level meeting with scheduled commercial banks and key stakeholders, Sitharaman said the evolving threat posed by the latest AI models was unprecedented and required a high degree of vigilance, preparedness, and stronger coordination across financial institutions.

She advised the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) to develop a coordinated institutional mechanism to respond swiftly and effectively to such threats. Banks were also directed to continuously strengthen their defensive and monitoring capabilities by engaging specialised cybersecurity agencies and professionals.

The minister further asked lenders to immediately report any suspicious activity or cyber incident to the relevant authorities, including the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, and maintain close coordination with all agencies concerned.

Emphasising proactive action, the minister urged banks to take all necessary pre-emptive measures to secure their IT systems, safeguard customer data, and protect monetary resources. She also called for a robust real-time threat intelligence sharing mechanism among banks, CERT-In, and other relevant agencies so that emerging threats are identified early and disseminated across the ecosystem without delay.

The meeting was attended by Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, department of financial services secretary M. Nagaraju, CERT-In director general Sanjay Bahl, senior officials of Reserve Bank of India and National Payments Corporation of India, along with managing directors and chief executives of scheduled commercial banks.

The meeting comes amid growing concerns within the financial sector over potential disruptions and risks linked to Anthropic’s Mythos AI model, prompting the government and regulators to undertake a closer assessment.

DFS secretary Nagaraju, in his address, said artificial intelligence can play a major role in strengthening financial inclusion and improving risk management, while cautioning that cyber threats and data privacy concerns must be actively managed as India’s digital financial ecosystem expands.