State Bank of India has assured customers their funds remain safe after a suspected data exposure surfaced on the dark web. In a statement on Friday, the public sector lender said it had contacted affected customers individually through email or WhatsApp.
SBI also confirmed that its core banking services continue normally, without material disruption to operations or business continuity.
The reassurance follows alerts received on October 16 from SBI’s threat intelligence provider, the Defense Cyber Agency and CERT-In. A preliminary review of approximately 375,000 records identified 3,897 records containing personally identifiable information.
The bank has launched a detailed investigation to establish the nature and extent of the suspected exposure.
The potentially exposed information reportedly includes names, registered mobile numbers, birth dates, gender, email addresses and residential addresses. Records also contain branch details, customer information file identifiers, lead IDs and metadata linked to loan-related files.
SBI has not confirmed the source of the exposure or whether the suspected data is complete and authentic.
The bank said it activated cyber incident response and containment measures after receiving the alerts. It also appointed an independent cybersecurity agency empaneled by CERT-In to examine the incident. The investigation aims to determine how the information surfaced and assess the scope of the potential breach.
SBI reiterated its position in the statement, saying, “We reiterate that your account balances and funds are safe with us.” The lender also reported no material impact on financial performance or business operations.
SBI has advised customers to follow safe digital banking practices while investigators assess the incident. Customers should never share one-time passwords, PINs or account passwords with callers or through messages. Suspicious emails, unexpected links and requests claiming to require urgent account updates also deserve scrutiny.
Although SBI says customer funds remain safe, exposed personal details could help scammers create convincing messages or impersonate bank representatives.
Customers should monitor account activity and verify unusual requests through official SBI channels. The investigation remains important for clarifying the source and extent of the suspected data exposure.
Also Read: SBI Data Leak: 3,897 Customer Records Found on Dark Web