SBI Data Breach Alert As 3,897 Customer Records Found On Dark Web, Bank Assures Funds Are Safe

New Delhi, Oct 23: State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday assured customers that their account balances and funds are safe, as the country's largest lender began a probe into suspected exposure of 3,897 customer records with personally identifiable information on the dark web.

SBI on Wednesday said it was investigating the suspected data exposure following alerts received on October 16 from its threat intelligence service provider, the Defence Cyber Agency and CERT-In.

SBI reassures customers on fund safety

"We reiterate that your account balances and funds are safe with us," the bank said in a post on X.

SBI advised customers to follow safe digital banking practices and cautioned them against sharing their one-time passwords (OTPs), PINs or passwords with anyone.

The bank also urged customers to remain vigilant against suspicious calls, messages and emails.

"Further to our earlier post regarding the recent cyber incident, the bank has individually informed all customers whose data was identified as involved, through email and WhatsApp," it said.

Thousands of customer records identified

A preliminary analysis of around 3.75 lakh records available on the dark web identified 3,897 customer records containing sensitive information, including registered mobile numbers, dates of birth, names, gender, email addresses and residential addresses, SBI said on Wednesday.

The exposed information reportedly also included branch and Customer Information File (CIF) identifiers, lead IDs, and metadata associated with loan and lead records and other related files.

Investigation into data exposure underway

The bank also said a detailed investigation was required to establish the authenticity and completeness of the exposed data, determine the potential source and extent of the exposure, and assess the associated risks to customers and the bank.

SBI said it had promptly activated its cyber incident response and containment protocols. It had also engaged an independent cybersecurity agency empanelled by CERT-In to conduct a comprehensive assessment and investigate the alleged compromise.

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Core banking operations remain unaffected

The incident had no material impact on the bank's core business operations, financial performance or business continuity, the filing said, adding that its core business functions continued to operate normally without disruption.

A detailed assessment is underway, and the bank is implementing appropriate remedial and preventive measures, it said.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)