Navi Mumbai: A month after cybercriminals hacked into the centralised computer server of SBI (State Bank of India) Global IT Centre in CBD-Belapur and stole confidential files, including 3.75 lakh bank records, application data and 4,280 customer records, among other files, an FIR was registered at the CBD-Belapur police station. While the incident occurred between Oct 10 and 15, the data theft came to light a month later when bank officials learnt the stolen details were posted on the dark web. An FIR was registered on Nov 12 after a complaint was lodged by SBI official Bhavesh Nikam (38).According to the complaint, unknown persons, using the hacker group ‘Siriusim’, illegally accessed the server at SBI Global IT Centre (GITC). The hackers stole approximately 32 CSV (comma-separated values; a file which allows data to be saved in a table-structured format) files with 3.75 lakh records in CSV format from State Bank of India applications, JSON files (JavaScript Object Notation, text format for storing and exchanging data) and 2,721 PDF files containing Personally Identifiable Information (PII). These included personal details of SBI customers, loan application records, account opening applications, contact information and addresses. Thereafter, the hackers published some of the stolen data on the dark web, disseminating sensitive or confidential information of SBI and its customers.Arun Pawar, senior inspector of CBD-Belapur, said, “The bank’s authorities have claimed that they have removed the bank’s stolen data from the dark web and ensured that it has not been misused.”Prashant Mali, cybersecurity and privacy expert lawyer, said, “If the bank claims that the data has been removed from the dark web and not misused, then there might have been an exchange of money in ransom between the hackers or the hackers might have sold it to the highest bidder. Anyway, SBI customers need to be extra vigilant about phishing and other cyber attacks.”Police have invoked BNS sections that prescribe punishment for simple theft and criminal conspiracy along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. The accused named in the FIR are unknown persons using a hacker group and an Internet Protocol (IP) address.
