SBI says deposits safe after data leak, begins messaging 3,897 affected customers

Customers of SBI, the country's largest public sector bank, have been worried since news of a data leak emerged, and many questions are being asked about cyber security. Against this backdrop, the bank has now clarified its position on the safety of money in customers' accounts.

The bank has said that the money deposited in customers' accounts is safe. It has begun informing the customers affected by the incident individually, by email and WhatsApp. The bank has also advised customers to be careful while using digital banking.

According to SBI, an initial examination was carried out of about 3.75 lakh records available on the dark web. It found that 3,897 records containing customers' identity information had been exposed. The bank has appointed cyber security experts to investigate the possible leak.

The bank posted a statement on the social media platform X. It said: "Following our earlier post regarding the recent cyber incident, the bank has separately informed, by email and WhatsApp, all customers whose data was affected by this incident." In the same statement, the bank added: "We would also like to reiterate that the balance and funds in your account are safe with us."

The bank has asked customers to follow safe digital banking practices. It has said they should not share their OTP, PIN or password with anyone, and should be wary of suspicious calls, messages and emails.

The statement follows a development earlier this week this year. The country's largest bank had then said that there had been a data leak and that the data of 3,897 customers had been published on the dark web. The bank had also said at the time that it had received an alert about possibly compromised customer data from a threat intelligence service provider, Defence Cyber Agency and CERT-In.

The records found in the investigation are said to contain various kinds of personal information about customers. These include customers' names and registered mobile numbers, dates of birth and email IDs, home addresses and gender details, bank branch and customer ID details, and some information related to loan and lead records.

On the question of whether money is safe, SBI has assured customers that the amount deposited in their accounts is secure. According to the bank, the incident has had no major impact on core banking operations, financial performance or business continuity.