Bank of Baroda Data Leak: What the bank says about it and what you should do

1TB (1000 GB) data of Bank of Baroda's customers and internal banking has been allegedly leaked by a hacking group on the dark web. The sensitive data leak was confirmed by the public lender in a statement, adding that an employee's email account led to this cybersecurity incident.

In a post on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), The PSU lender clarified that while unauthorised access to certain data occurred, its core banking systems were not affected and continue to remain secure.

According to the bank, the incident was identified promptly, following which immediate containment measures were implemented to prevent any further impact. The bank emphasised that it has robust information security protocols in place and acted swiftly after detecting the breach.

The bank said the incident was limited to an employee's email account and did not involve its core banking infrastructure. It reassured customers and stakeholders that its primary banking systems were not accessed during the incident.

The lender has also initiated a comprehensive forensic investigation to determine the nature and extent of the breach. It added that it is working closely with the relevant authorities and complying with all applicable regulatory requirements.

While bank has assured that the core banking function has remained unscathed, but still customers can take some precautionary steps to protect their accounts and personal information.

1. Change Netbanking and mobile banking passwords: If you fear that your account may be under radar, you can change the credentials of netbanking and mobile banking.

2. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) that offers an additional layer of security, which makes harder for hackers to crack in your account.

3. Keep vigilant and stay alert.

Shares of public sector lender Bank of Baroda ended Monday's session 0.91 per cent lower at Rs 244.20 on the NSE, slipping Rs 2.25 from the close. During the session, the stock traded in a range of Rs 241.90 to Rs 247.70 after opening at Rs 243.50.

The stock is currently trading nearly 25 per cent below its 52-week high of Rs 325.50, while remaining above its 52-week low of Rs 230.81. Bank of Baroda commands a market capitalisation of Rs 1.26 lakh crore and is trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 6.36. The lender offers a dividend yield of 3.48 per cent.

In June, Tata Electronics had identified that it had detected a recent "cybersecurity incident", leading to leaking of purported component design and specification papers of Apple and Tesla.

The Tata group company said its response protocols were deployed immediately, and the incident has had no impact on our operations across businesses, which remain unaffected.

Tata was hit by a cyberattack on its British ​Jaguar Land Rover group last year that resulted in a six-week output halt.

The World Leaks website had confirmed that the Tata Electronics data comprised more than 200,000 files totalling over 630 gigabytes. ​A database on its website shows several purported Apple files and folders, some titled "com.apple.factorydata", and documents referring to "material specification".