In one of the biggest card replacements <br />in Indian banking, State Bank of India has said <br />that it will re-issue around six lakh debit cards to <br />customers, which have been blocked following <br />a malware-related security breach in a non-SBI <br />ATM network. <br />"It's a security breach, but not in our banks' <br />systems. Many other banks also have this <br />breach — right now and since a long time," <br />Shiv Kumar Bhasin, SBI's chief technology <br />officer (CTO), told TOI, adding that customers <br />who used their cards only at SBI-run ATMs <br />have not been affected by this. "A few ATMs <br />have been affected by a malware. When people <br />use their card on infected switches or ATMs, <br />there is a high probability that their data will be compromised," Bhasin said. <br />Several customers of the bank have found their ATM cards to be blocked. SBI <br />has informed branches about the cards being blocked and fresh cards would be <br />issued to customers. "Customers need not panic. They can either approach <br />their branch, call up phone banking or use the internet for 're-carding'. They can <br />also set their PINs from their homes using internet banking," Bhasin said. <br />Last month, Yes Bank had confirmed that its ATM network manager Hitachi <br />Payments was reviewing its network to rule out any compromise. Hitachi had <br />initiated a detailed audit of their systems through a certified agency SISA. <br />"Preliminary reports of the audit conducted have been submitted... and the <br />report does not establish any system-level breach at Hitachi Payment <br />Services," the bank said. <br />At present, the RBI does not require banks to report to the public any security <br />breach in their network. "Banks whose ATMs have been infected must come <br />forward and declare those infected ATMs. The onus is on them to stop this," <br />Bhasin said, without naming the banks. He added that until the problem is <br />addressed customers who use their cards in the ATMs of affected banks will <br />continue to be at risk. <br />A branch manager in Pune confirmed that the bank has blocked a few of its <br />customers' cards. She also said that the bank has sent SMSs to customers <br />informing them that their card was blocked. However, affected customers were <br />largely clueless about this development. "I had come to Delhi, from Punjab, on <br />Monday and discovered my card was not functioning. When I called the bank, <br />they said I will have to come to Mumbai [my home branch] and re-apply, or <br />transfer my account to Delhi — which will take a fortnight — and then the new <br />card would arrive in seven days," said Ankur Jaiswal, a researcher and SBI account holder
