The Reserve Bank has denied reports that its computer systems or networks have been compromised by hackers, saying that at no point has any data or information been lost or its systems corrupted.
Responding to a report in yesterday's Australian Financial Review, the RBA said that although it had been on occasion the target of cyber attacks, it "has comprehensive security arrangements in place which have isolated these attacks and ensured that viruses have not been spread across the bank's network or systems".
"The bank's IT systems operate safely, securely and with a high degree of resilience," a bank media release said.
The RBA believes the cyber attacks it confronts are no different from those faced by any large organisation. Bank officials spent much of yesterday reassuring financial counter-parties that its security had not been breached. The article claimed the bank's networks had been "repeatedly and successfully hacked", suggesting information had been stolen and that "assailants had access to its systems".
The Reserve Bank's media release said: "The bank takes cyber security and its potential consequences extremely seriously. As part of its extensive efforts to ensure that security arrangements are best practice, the bank routinely consults with the Defence Signals Directorate and draws on the expertise of specialist private firms.
"There is ongoing rigorous testing of the bank's IT systems and regular training of staff."
The RBA reported last December that a malicious email, purporting to be from a senior manager, had infected six computers which were isolated for several hours while updated virus protection was installed.
None of the personal computers had administrator rights and so the virus did not spread to its systems.
