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Research noteResearched 2 Nov 2026 · published 2 Nov 2026, 23:39 IST

Research note: SBI confirms customer data found on the dark web; 3,897 records held personal details

How we checked SBI's disclosure and what customers can do.

Research led by Mayank Sahu
Compiled with AI assistance (Claude by Anthropic)
Read the story →

At a glance

1searches run
3sources read
2sources used
5facts labelled
Mixedevidence strength · 2 of 4 facts (50%)

How we rate evidence: Some facts are confirmed, others rest on one report or on the company’s own claims. We count the share of known facts labelled Confirmed or Reported: 70% or more is Strong, 40–69% Mixed, below 40% Limited.

From sources to story

How many sources we read, how many we used, and how many are official or archived.

Read3Every source we opened
Used2Relied on for the story
Cited2Linked in the story
Official0From the company or a public body
Archived2Saved on the Internet Archive

How sure we are, fact by fact

  • Reported · 2 — Two or more independent, named outlets say it.
  • Unconfirmed · 2 — One report only, shown with its source.
  • Not known · 1 — Not announced or not answered yet.

Evidence map

Each row is a fact from the story; each column is a source. A filled dot means that source supports the fact.

FactLabel1OUT2OUT
SBI disclosed a data incident to stock exchanges on 21 October 2026, after an alert on 16 October.Reported
SBI found 3,897 records with personal details among about 3.75 lakh dark web records.Reported
The listed fields exclude account numbers, passwords, OTPs, card details, PAN and Aadhaar.Unconfirmed
SBI said on 23 October it had told affected customers by email and WhatsApp.Unconfirmed
How the data left SBI.Not known
Question

What we set out to check

What SBI disclosed, which data was involved, how customers were told and what they should do.

Findings

What we found

Both outlets agree on the alert date, the filing date, the 3,897 figure and the seller name. The Hacker News lists the data fields and SBI advice. ThePrint adds the customer notice on 23 October and the AI context.

Discrepancies

Numbers that differ

The Hacker News gives about 375,000 records; ThePrint gives about 3.75 lakh. They are the same number.

Method

Labels we chose and why

Reported for the main facts in both outlets. Unconfirmed for the data fields and the notice date, each from one outlet.

Open questions

What we could not verify

SBI's filing itself and the seller's listing, which we did not open.

Can you help confirm one of these? Send us a source. When we find an answer, we update this note and the story, with the date.

Next steps

How we could improve this

Read SBI's exchange filing directly and update with the auditor's findings when SBI shares them.

Research timeline

  1. Research2 Nov 2026
  2. Research note published2 Nov 2026, 23:39 IST
  3. Story published2 Nov 2026, 23:49 IST

What we searched

  • SBI customer data dark web exchange filing October 2026 3,897 customers

Every source we read

SourceUsed?Why
The Hacker News
Archived copy		USEDFiling details, data fields, SBI statements, advice.
ThePrint
Archived copy		USEDTimeline, customer notice, wider context.
YourStoryNOT USEDSimilar detail.

Sources cited in the story

  1. 1The Hacker News: State Bank of India confirms data leak after 3,897 customer records found on dark webOUTLET
  2. 2ThePrint: AI is making old flaws easier to exploit, SBI and eMudhra breaches expose gapsOUTLET

Research notes show our working. They are not peer-reviewed papers. Data: facts as JSON · How we report