MUSCAT: Indian expatriates in Oman who maintain bank accounts, savings or loan facilities with the SBI should remain alert to potential phishing and impersonation scams following the lender’s disclosure that 3,897 customer records containing personal information were identified in a preliminary analysis of data found on the dark web.
The bank’s disclosure does not establish whether any affected customers live in Oman. However, the incident raises concerns for expatriates who manage their finances across borders and may rely on Indian bank accounts for savings, loan repayments, investments or family transfers.
In a disclosure to Indian stock exchanges on Wednesday, the state-owned bank said a preliminary examination of approximately 375,000 records identified online found 3,897 entries containing personal information. SBI said further investigation was necessary to verify the authenticity, completeness and extent of the exposed data.
The incident came to light after a group identifying itself as “Siriusim” claimed on October 16 to possess confidential information allegedly linked to the bank. The group reportedly claimed to hold around 375,000 data entries in spreadsheet format and 2,722 PDF files, potentially containing customer details, loan applications and account-opening documents.
According to SBI, the suspected exposure was flagged by its threat intelligence provider, India’s Defence Cyber Agency and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).
The information identified in the preliminary review reportedly includes customers’ names, registered mobile numbers, dates of birth, gender, email addresses and residential addresses. Some records also contain internal banking references, including branch details, customer information file (CIF) identifiers and data associated with loan applications and customer leads.
Following the discovery, SBI activated its cyber incident response and containment procedures and engaged an independent cybersecurity firm approved by CERT-In to assess the suspected breach.
The investigation is expected to determine the origin of the data, the extent of any compromise, the authenticity of the records and the potential risks to affected customers. The bank said remedial and preventive measures were also being implemented.
SBI added that the incident had no material impact on its core operations, financial performance or business continuity, with banking services continuing without disruption.