Kozhikode: The Registrar of co-operative society in Kerala has ordered all the co-operatives in the state to implement immediate measures to ensure the security of their software. The order is in view of the treasury fraud reported from Thiruvananthapuram. Moreover, almost half of the co-operative societies in Kerala use locally-developed software which has poor security features.

Only around 60 percent of the co-operatives, which have shifted to core banking, have software with satisfactory security features. Several frauds were also reported from co-operative societies due to the loopholes in software security. There are even co-operative banks where all employees use a single password.

However, the societies would have to spend a significant amount, amounting to lakhs of rupees, to replace the old software, which was installed several years ago. They also need sanction from the Joint Registrar to carry out the work.

The order issued by the Registrar says that the new software to be installed should have the security audit certificate and quality standard certificate. The co-operative societies also have to stick to the government rules related to data security, internet usage and software security. In addition, unit inspectors should audit software security also as part of their annual auditing. 

Meanwhile, the Registrar’s order has sought a report from the societies on their current software security status.