The State Bank of India (SBI) is investigating a suspected data leak after around 3.75 lakh records linked to the bank reportedly surfaced on the dark web. The incident has raised concerns about customer privacy, especially as cyber threats against financial institutions continue to grow.
In a stock exchange filing on October 21, SBI said it had received alerts about the possible exposure. A preliminary assessment found that 3,897 records contained personally identifiable information.
The data reportedly includes customers’ names, mobile numbers, dates of birth, email addresses and residential details. Branch information, Customer Information File (CIF) numbers and records linked to loan applications or customer leads were also among the information identified.
SBI Launches Investigation
The bank received alerts on October 16 from its threat intelligence service provider, the Defence Cyber Agency and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).
SBI has activated its cyber incident response procedures and appointed an independent cybersecurity agency empanelled by CERT-In to examine the incident. The investigation will help establish how the information became exposed and whether customers face any risk.
Banking Services Remain Unaffected
SBI said the incident has had no material impact on its operations, financial performance or business continuity. Its core banking services continue to function normally.
However, the possible exposure of personal information remains a concern. Such details can be misused in phishing attempts and financial scams, particularly when fraudsters use genuine customer information to make their messages appear trustworthy.
Customers should be wary of unexpected calls or messages asking for account details, passwords or OTPs. They should avoid suspicious links and never share confidential banking information, even if the person claims to represent SBI.
The bank said it is monitoring the situation and will take further preventive measures as needed. The investigation will determine the extent of the suspected leak and whether additional safeguards are required.
For now, SBI has reported no disruption to its banking services. The priority is to establish what happened and protect customers from any potential misuse of their information.
