Does Recent SBI Data Leaks Highlight The Need For Bitcoin Adoption and Its Benefits

This Wednesday, TechCrunch reported that State Bank of India, the country’s biggest public sector bank neglected to secure a key server hosting sensitive data in one of its Mumbai bases which might have leaked details of millions of bank accounts.

TechCrunch was tipped-off about the insecure server, but by the time the information got to the media publication, SBI had fixed the glitch. SBI did not comment on the matter, however, put out a vague statement.

In light of the recent news item, regarding an alleged data incident, please find below our statement: pic.twitter.com/mu4xn12QgL

— State Bank of India (@TheOfficialSBI) January 31, 2019

“Basis our initial probe, we hereby confirm that SBI's data continue to remain secure and all profiles and financial records of our customers are safe. The bank is continuing its investigation into all the components of the ecosystem to ascertain that there is no other impact,” a bank spokesperson said.

The unsecured server was a section of SBI Quick, which enabled the bank customers to send a message or make a call to carry out basic banking functions.

Still, because the SBI Quick attaches an SBI customer's phone number with his account, the data leaked from the SBI server could be used by identity thieves or scammers to swindle money from bank's accounts.

“Even if the claims of the hackers are true, the maximum damage could be a social engineering attack in different forms and modes. There can be fake calls, SMS, or emails, which may result in fraudulent activities. Customers should be aware of any such social engineering,” said Rakshit Tandon, a Delhi-based cyber-crime expert.

Can Bitcoin Be A Solution?

The co-founder of Morgan Creek ventures and one of the biggest influencers of the crypto ecosystem was quick to point out this massive security failure of a mainstream bank.

The State Bank of India just leaked sensitive banking data on millions of customers.

Whoops!

This is just another reason why we need decentralized financial institutions.

Long Bitcoin, Short the Bankers!

— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) January 30, 2019

The very complexities connected with national and global marketplaces set the stage for a thought that these economies are too inconstant to be successfully managed by the type of manipulation central banks engage in.

Moreover, contemporary central banks have been the subject of controversy since their inception. And the reasons for discontent are wide and varied. On one hand, the idea of monopoly control is extremely troubling. On another, the presence of an objective, opaque entity that has the power to manipulate an economy is even more disturbing.

In an era when technology has empowered customers to interlock in commerce without the need for a central authority, an argument can be made that central banks are no longer necessary.