The State Bank of India has identified 3,897 customer records containing personally identifiable information in data suspected to have been exposed on the dark web.
In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, the country’s largest lender said it received alerts about the suspected exposure on October 16 from its threat intelligence service provider, the Defence Cyber Agency and CERT-In. A preliminary review of approximately 375,000 records available on the dark web found 3,897 that contained personal details.
The exposed information reportedly included customers’ registered mobile numbers, dates of birth, names, gender, email addresses, residential addresses, branch and customer information file identifiers, lead IDs, and metadata linked to loan and lead records along with related files.
SBI said it has activated its cyber incident response and containment protocols and engaged an independent cybersecurity agency empanelled by CERT-In to assess the alleged compromise and potential risks to customers and the bank. The lender clarified that the incident has had no material impact on its core business operations, financial performance or business continuity, and that its core functions continue to operate normally without disruption.
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The bank’s disclosure follows a claim by an unidentified group operating under the name Siriusim that it had obtained confidential customer information allegedly linked to SBI. The group claimed to possess around 3.8 lakh data entries in CSV format and 2,722 PDF documents, including personal details, loan applications, supporting documents and account-opening records. The authenticity and origin of the alleged dataset remain unverified.
SBI stated that a detailed assessment is underway to establish the authenticity, source and extent of the exposure and to evaluate associated risks. Appropriate remedial and preventive measures are being implemented as required. The bank added that it would continue to monitor the situation and take further steps in line with applicable regulatory requirements.
The development comes amid heightened attention on cybersecurity risks in India’s financial sector, following tighter norms introduced by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this year.