Archive · 5 Aug 2026
RBI governor says large banks' IT systems strong after breach
India has a central bank called the Reserve Bank of India, and the person in charge of it is called the governor.
The governor said that big banks in India have strong and safe computer systems.
He said this just a few days after one of those banks had a big security problem.
That bank is called Bank of Baroda.
Someone got into an employee's email account and took about one terabyte of information, which is a huge amount of data.
The information included customer account records, loan papers, and other private documents.
The bank said its everyday work never stopped and it does not expect the problem to hurt its business very much.
A careful check of what happened is still going on.
The governor explained that banks are checked regularly and told how to make their systems safer.
Banks are also getting help from companies like EY and Boston Consulting Group to find weak spots that smart computer programs could use.
RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra said large Indian banks and regulated entities have strong, robust IT systems with regular supervision.
The remarks came days after a cyber breach at state-owned Bank of Baroda reportedly exposed about 1 terabyte of customer and internal data.
The breach is said to have started with a compromised employee email account; leaked files reportedly include audit reports, loan appraisal files, vigilance records and account-opening forms.
Bank of Baroda said the breach is not expected to have material impact on its operations, financial performance or business continuity, and that a detailed assessment is underway.
The RBI has asked banks for board-approved cyber security reviews and AI governance frameworks, while consultancies including EY and BCG help identify AI-related vulnerabilities.
- Who
- RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra, Bank of Baroda, and RBI deputy governor Swaminathan J.
- What
- The RBI governor said large banks' IT systems are strong and robust, days after a cyber breach at Bank of Baroda exposed about 1 terabyte of data.
- When
- Wednesday, days after Mint reported the breach on 27 July.
- Where
- India, in the country's banking sector.
- Why
- In response to the Bank of Baroda cyber breach and to reassure on the security and resilience of banks' systems.
- Central Bank
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
- RBI Governor
- Sanjay Malhotra
- Affected Bank
- Bank of Baroda (state-owned)
- Data Exposed
- About 1 terabyte of customer and internal data
- Possible Cause
- Compromised employee email account
- Leaked Content
- Audit reports, loan appraisal files, vigilance records, account-opening forms, Aadhaar numbers, net banking details
- Bank's Response
- No material impact expected; detailed assessment underway
- RBI Action
- Banks asked for board-approved cyber security reviews and AI governance frameworks