State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender by assets, has launched a probe after a suspected cyber attack exposed thousands of customer records containing personal information onto the dark web.
SBI is investigating the breach after a preliminary analysis identified nearly 4,000 records containing customers’ personal information, the bank said in an exchange filing Wednesday. About 375,000 records available on the dark web were analyzed as part of the initial assessment, it said.
The leak highlights cybersecurity risks facing the country’s banking sector as lenders expand digital services and handle increasing volumes of sensitive customer information. In July, state-run Bank of Baroda reported a similar breach.
“The attack surface from a cyber landscape standpoint is continually changing, giving the extensive technological transformation within financial services primarily account of digitization and AI,” said Vivek Iyer, a partner at Grant Thornton Bharat. Financial institutions not only need to strengthen their cyber posture but also their security operation centers, he said.
The Reserve Bank of India has repeatedly warned lenders about cyber-related risks that could harm financial stability. In a survey of 43 banks and shadow lenders conducted by the central bank, nearly one-third of respondents reported a moderate or significant rise in cyber risks compared to a year earlier.
The concerns are playing across the region. In Japan, a wave of data breaches has hit companies including Daiwa Securities Group Inc., East Japan Railway Co. and SoftBank Corp., prompting government officials to step up cybersecurity measures.
SBI, which is a systemically important bank in India, said the leaked records included customers’ names, registered mobile numbers, dates of birth, email and residential addresses, as well as branch and customer identification numbers and details associated with loan and lead records.
The lender said a detailed investigation is underway to determine the potential source and extent of the exposure, and assess the risks to customers and the bank. The incident has no material impact on SBI’s core business operations, financial performance or business continuity, it said.
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