Bank of Baroda is investigating an alleged data breach after nearly a terabyte of data, said to include customer and internal records, surfaced on the dark web.
Cybersecurity researcher Srikanth Lakshmanan, founder of the consumer advocacy platform Cashless Consumer, first identified the dataset advertised on a dark web site 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 includes Aadhaar numbers and account records tied to savings, current and loan accounts, as well as details linked to non-resident Indian and corporate banking customers.
Some researchers have linked the leak to a threat actor known as TripleX, previously associated with attacks on financial institutions in Indonesia, though this connection remains unconfirmed.
In response, Bank of Baroda said the incident stemmed from 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 initiated.
The bank said it was working closely with relevant authorities as the investigation into the scope and origin of the alleged leak continues.
Bank of Baroda shares fell 1.50 per cent to Rs 240.35 on the NSE on July 28, as investors reacted to both the alleged breach and the lender’s weaker headline earnings for the first quarter of FY27.
The bank said it had implemented immediate containment measures upon detecting the breach and was complying with all applicable regulatory requirements while the investigation continued.
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)
