Representative image. Photo: Photo by Raghavan2010, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bank of Baroda has launched a probe after nearly a terabyte of data allegedly tied to the bank was found leaked on the dark web.
The dataset was first flagged by cybersecurity researcher Srikanth Lakshmanan, founder of the consumer advocacy platform Cashless Consumer, who spotted it on a dark web listing over the weekend.
The alleged leak reportedly contains customer identity documents, loan application and appraisal records, internal audit reports, branch documents, customer application forms and internal communications.
Unverified claims in some reports suggest the dataset also includes Aadhaar numbers and account records covering savings, current and loan accounts, as well as NRI and corporate banking customers.
Some researchers have tied the incident to a threat actor known as TripleX, previously linked to attacks on Indonesian financial institutions, though this link is unconfirmed.
Bank of Baroda attributed the incident to the compromise of an employee’s email account rather than any breach of its core banking infrastructure.
“The bank’s core banking systems were not accessed and continue to remain secure,” the bank said, noting that a comprehensive forensic investigation had begun.
The bank said it continues to work with relevant authorities as the investigation into the alleged leak proceeds.
Bank of Baroda’s stock fell 1.50 per cent to Rs 240.35 on the NSE on July 28, as the alleged breach compounded investor concerns following weaker first-quarter FY27 earnings.
The lender said containment measures were activated immediately upon detection of the breach, and that it continues to comply with all applicable regulatory requirements as the probe proceeds.
Data breaches involving Indian financial institutions have drawn increasing regulatory attention in recent years, with lenders required to report significant cybersecurity incidents to sector regulators within stipulated timeframes.
Bank of Baroda is one of India’s largest public sector banks, with a network spanning thousands of branches across the country as well as international operations in several countries.
(Image: Photo by Raghavan2010, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
