Security Breach of 32 lacs Debit Cards of SBI, HDFC, Axis

Over 32 lacs debit cards issued by Axis Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank have been compromised after being used in some automated teller machines (ATMs).

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked all the banks to replace those debit cards whose security has been compromised. The compromised cards were issued on VISA, Master Card and Rupay platform.

The compromised debit cards were used on white labelled ATMs of Hitachi Payment Services from where they were hit by a virus, resulting into stealing of confidential information of debit cards.

NPCI has informed that they have received complaints of debit cards being used in China. NPCI has ordered conducting of forensic audit of servers and systems of Indian Banks to detect origin of the suspected malware.

State Bank of India and HDFC Bank have been reported to have already started the process of replacing the compromised debit cards. SBI, the country’s largest lender, has started the process of replacing 0.6 million debit cards.

VISA, Master Card and Rupay, the platforms on which cards are being issued, have informed banks about the security compromise and have blocked the suspicious debit cards.

SBI deputy managing director and chief operating officer Manju Agarwal said “We came to know about security breach and proactively recalled affected cards as we did not want our customers to be at any risk. There was no breach in our system. We are now issuing EMV-based debit cards which cannot be compromised,”

There is no news of any fund transfers till now. As a security measure, Banks have also advised their customers to change PIN of their debit cards for the safeguard.