Cyberattack hits India’s largest bank, exposes customer records

[MUMBAI] State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender by assets, has launched a probe after a suspected cyberattack 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 on Wednesday (Oct 21). About 375,000 records available on the dark Web were analysed as part of the initial assessment, it added.

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. Data leaks have also hit financial institutions elsewhere, exposing firms to regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage and erosion of customer trust.

In Asia, a Morgan Stanley employee recently inadvertently shared an internal document detailing investment-banking deals the firm was pitching and monitoring across the region.

“The attack surface from a cyber landscape standpoint is continually changing, giving the extensive technological transformation within financial services primarily account of digitisation and AI (artificial intelligence),” said Vivek Iyer, a partner at Grant Thornton Bharat. Financial institutions not only need to strengthen their cyberposture but also their security operation centres, he noted.

The Reserve Bank of India has repeatedly cautioned lenders about cyber-related risks that could potentially harm financial stability. A survey of 43 Indian banks and shadow lenders conducted by the central bank found that nearly one-third of respondents reported a moderate or significant rise in cyber risks compared to a year earlier.

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SBI, which is a systemically important bank in India, said that the leaked records included customers’ names, registered mobile numbers, dates of birth, e-mail and residential addresses, as well as branch and customer identification numbers and details associated with loan and lead records.

The lender added that a detailed investigation is under way 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. BLOOMBERG