to be, taken in such a way that upgradation to take care of technology obsolescence is performed in a scientific manner and on a need - to - upgrade basis. this would help banks avoid falling into the technology - obsolescence trap requiring huge sums of money for to come out. viii. thou shall provide a framework for incident management. security related incidents cannot be wished away. the best tool towards an effective it security framework would thus be one which acknowledges such security instances and provides for a framework for appropriate incident reporting within the organization and to the regulators. such a mechanism would provide insights into the security violations and other such attempts, but the single largest beneficial factor would be the development of a set of knowledge workers who hold the key to success of any it based initiative by banks in a country which can boast of some of the best it companies runs by effective it czars. ix. thou shall take care of data quality and integrity. the most vital component of it security is the data which forms part of the it enables business processing system. data is hard to get or create, easy for misuse and is tough to be channeled towards beneficial interpretation resulting in meaningful analysis. to this end, banks need to work out effective standards aimed at high levels of data quality and integrity. i am reminded at this juncture of a book called “ database nation ” written by simson garfinkel which outlines the death of privacy in the twenty - first century. the author skillfully elucidates the various facets governing data piracy while concluding that the owner of one ’ s own private information is not himself! banks cannot afford to fall into this category and data refinement is one approach which would facilitate good data management with adequate levels of protective covers. x. thou shall provide for it security as a way of life. the last commandment is more like a synopsis but is at the heart of all it security related initiatives. it security cannot be viewed in isolation ; neither can it be implemented in fits and starts. examples of good it security implementation reveal that good it security features are impregnated as essential requirements in a normal way of life. as banks, we need to imbibe the security culture in our normal day - to - day activities. this is a challenging and daunting task since the normal human mind is more attuned towards an easy, laissez faire approach towards reduced security so as to enhance convenience. it security

does add on to inconvenience as it does towards increased costs, but it is economical in the long run. 10. having set out the commandments ; let me share a few thoughts of immediate operational relevance to banks. we have seen that the security standards has been evolving over the years and maturing along with the advancement of hardware and software applications. financial sector has also been fine tuning and catching up with the global standards. all regulated entities have it policy driven by their board and this policy has various sub - policies such as information security policy. the latest is the security standards for mobile banking. banks have also put in place mechanism for is audits and these are seriously reviewed by the audit committee of the board of the banks. while there have been conscious efforts on the part of the regulator as well as regulated entities, i still feel there is considerable scope in working towards having a uniformly accepted standards and practices for operational risks especially information security risks across all financial institutions. it is in this context that i have attempted to set out the standards for it security. these are not intended to add on to the existing complexities facing banks in their normal operational levels ; on the other hand, those banks which follow these would be well insulated against future shocks arising out it security related outages. i am sure that in the world of today where only the fittest have any chances of survival, our banks will not only survive but also grow in prosperity and mature as well, using the best of information and communication technology. the deliberations during the conference would add value to the audience and i am sure that all of you would be more enlightened and be the better knowledge workers of tomorrow. it is this goal which we would have to achieve and to this end, i wish each and every one of you god speed and success. i am sure that the conference would be thought stimulating, packed with high energy contents and be rewarding to you all. let me conclude now by wishing the conference all success. thank you.