The Stock Exchange Mumbai was founded in 1875 and is India’s premier securities exchange. Popularly know by that city's former name, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has now been certified by DNV in accordance with the British Standard for Information Security Management (BS 7799-2:2002).

A modern marketplace
Many years ago the BSE converted from the old-fashioned “outcry” trading method to an online electronic trading system. Brokers need no longer be physically present in the trading hall and can trade from the terminals in their offices. The system matches purchase and sale offers within fractions of a second and confirms the deals to the respective parties. Simultaneously, price information is also broadcast to all participants.

"The transfer to an electronic system introduces new risks with regards to the information security, loss of data, and reliability. The BSE has a significant role in the Indian economy, and is vital for the capital markets of the country. The stock exchange has taken a significant step in being certified for information security in order to demonstrate their integrity and win the trust of the investing public," says Ashok Balwani, Regional Manager DNV Certification.

Demonstrating control
Upon receiving the certificate from DNV, Mr. S.B. Patankar, BSE Chief Technology Officer said; "We wanted to demonstrate not only internally but also externally to our members and the investing community at large that we had these issues related to security and business continuity under control. Certification from DNV helps us to establish our credibility in this regard."

Ashok Balwani congratulated the BSE on being only the second stock exchange in the world to be so certified, and said that he believes "the BSE aims to provide an ideal and frictionless market for securities, for which the hallmarks are transparency and security."