The attack suffered by the Bank of Chile May 24th put cybersecurity on the agenda of the Legislative branch. Taking into account the intention of the Executive, Congress will promote changes in the topic. Even though the debate is at an early stage and there have not been bills introduced on the matter yet, Congress began the study of the problem with government representatives to elaborate an initiative to amend the Computer Crimes Law (Nº 19.223). The modification would require greater investment in public and private entities’ security, mainly in the financial and commercial sector. It is expected that a bill will be drafted to deepen the commitments of banking entities regarding the management of their security systems in the coming weeks.

The measure will also modernize local legislation (dating from 1993) to meet international standards. This would involve having qualified judges and institutions to face this type of crime, as well as recognizing the need for a policy of disclosure of vulnerabilities in public and private sector organizations.

This Wednesday June 20th, the Senate Economy Committee received the President of Banco Estado, Arturo Tagle. In his speech, the pointed out that cybersecurity should not only contemplate cybercrime, but also respond to actions or technical failures that cause the loss of information, obstruct access to it or hinder banking operations.

The Superintendence of Banks and Financial Institutions (SBIF) held June 18th a meeting with major Chilean banks managers to ask them for greater security measures in this field. Last week, the Executive expressed interest in promoting new legislation in this area.