Upstox, India's second-biggest broking firm in terms of the number of active customers, disclosed that its databases, including contact details and know-your-customer (KYC) details, may have been breached. The Delhi-based discount brokerage firm, anyway thought that it has improved its security systems at its servers manifold recently, on the suggestions of a global cyber-security firm against a suspected data breach.
The organization has guaranteed the customers that their funds and securities are protected and remain safe. Sources propose that Upstox has endured a huge information breach that has uncovered some significant information like Aadhaar, PAN, bank account numbers, canceled cheques, signatures, and photographs apart from other personally identifiable information like passport, mobile numbers, and email addresses.
“On receipt of e-mails claiming unauthorized access into our database, we have appointed a leading international cyber-security firm to investigate possibilities of breach of some KYC data stored in third-party data warehouse systems. This morning, hackers put up a sample of our data on the dark web,” a company spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.
The spokesperson added that as a proactive measure, the organization has started numerous security upgrades, especially at the third-party warehouses, continuous 24x7 monitoring, and additional ring-fencing of its network.
“As a matter of abundant caution, we have also initiated a secure password reset via OTP for all Upstox users. Upstox takes customer security extremely seriously. Funds and securities of all Upstox customers are protected and remain safe. We have also duly reported this incident to the relevant authorities,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson further said that at this point, “We don't know with certainty the number of customers whose data has been exposed.”
Upstox, upheld by investors like Tiger Global and Ratan Tata, has more than 3,000,000 clients. In an announcement note on the organization site, Upstox co-founder and CEO Ravi Kumar said funds and securities of customers are protected and remain safe.
“Funds can only be moved to your linked bank accounts and your securities are held with the relevant depositories. As a matter of abundant caution, we have also initiated a secure password reset via OTP. Through this time, we have also strongly fortified our systems to the highest standards,” he said.
