Bank of Baroda is investigating an alleged breach after nearly a terabyte of data linked to the bank reportedly surfaced on the dark web.
The dataset was first identified by cybersecurity researcher Srikanth Lakshmanan, founder of the consumer advocacy platform Cashless Consumer, who found it listed over the weekend.
The alleged leak reportedly includes customer identity documents, loan application and appraisal records, internal audit reports, branch documents, customer application forms and internal communications.
Some reports have also claimed the dataset contains Aadhaar numbers and account records tied to savings, current and loan accounts, as well as NRI and corporate banking customers.
Researchers have suggested a possible connection to a threat actor known as TripleX, previously linked to attacks on Indonesian financial institutions, though this remains unconfirmed.
Bank of Baroda said the incident was traced 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, adding that a comprehensive forensic investigation had been launched.
The bank said it was working with relevant authorities as the probe into the alleged leak continues.
Bank of Baroda shares fell 1.50 per cent to Rs 240.35 on the NSE on July 28, with the alleged breach weighing on sentiment alongside weaker first-quarter FY27 earnings.
The bank said immediate containment measures were implemented once the breach was detected, and that it was complying with all applicable regulatory requirements as the investigation proceeded.
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)
