Data breach exposes 2.9 lakh Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board's customers' details: Report
Bengaluru: A major data breach has exposed the personal information of more than 2.9 lakh users of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), according to a recent probe conducted by the Bengaluru-based cybersecurity firm CloudSEK.
The breach involved unauthorised access to BWSSB's water connection application portal, exposing sensitive user data including Aadhaar numbers, PAN details, mobile numbers, full addresses, email IDs, and payment records, the probe report revealed, as cited by Deccan Herald on Tuesday.
The compromised database was reportedly listed for sale on BreachForum, an underground data leaks web forum, by a threat actor with the username pirates_gold.
"The initial post by the threat actor specified a payable amount of $500 (approximately Rs 42,616) for access to the compromised BWSSB database. However, upon direct engagement, the actor demonstrated high level of urgency and appeared willing to negotiate significantly lower prices, indicating a potential desperation to sell," CloudSEK noted in its findings, which were shared with both the BWSSB chairman and the Officer on Special Duty to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
"The post claimed that the database access would expose records of 2,91,212 users. It was explicitly stated that the compromised data did not include the user's passwords. Additionally, the post featured a few lines of sample data,” said the report, as cited by DH.
The leaked dataset reportedly contained multiple categories of information, including payment data, grievance data, application data, and system logs. The application data alone is said to contain over 2.91 lakh records, featuring full names, complete addresses, contact details, Aadhaar, and PAN numbers—details which could potentially be exploited for identity theft or financial fraud.
Despite the serious nature of the breach, sources in the BWSSB assured that the data was safe. "The entire billing data is stored in the Data Centre maintained by the Karnataka government. The 24x7 monitoring is at a high-security level and a breach of billing data was next to impossible,” DH quoted BWSSB sources as saying.
Meanwhile, BWSSB Chairman Ram Prasath Manohar acknowledged the report and stated that adequate measures would follow, noting that a case would be filed with the cybercrime police. “If a breach has indeed occurred, we will identify the root cause and involve technical experts to bolster our data security systems,” DH quoted Manohar as saying.
As part of its findings, CloudSEK recommended immediate corrective measures, including conducting a comprehensive security audit, revoking any exposed or potentially compromised credentials, and removing public access to administrative interfaces to prevent future breaches.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
High courts upheld only 8 per cent of death sentences; SC confirms none in recent years: Report
New Delhi (PTI): Highlighting that a high acquittal rate of death row convicts by the Supreme Court and high courts demonstrates a pattern of "erroneous or unjustified convictions", a study of 10 years of death penalty data has revealed that the top court did not confirm any death sentences in recent years.
The study by Square Circle Clinic, a criminal laws advocacy group with the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, found that an overwhelming majority of death sentences imposed by trial courts did not withstand scrutiny at higher judicial levels. Acquittals far outnumbered confirmations at both the high courts and Supreme Court levels.
According to the report, the trial courts across India awarded 1,310 death sentences in 822 cases between 2016 and 2025. High courts considered 842 of these sentences in confirmation proceedings but upheld only 70 or 8.31 per cent.
In contrast, 258 death sentences (30.64 per cent) resulted in acquittals. The study noted that the acquittal rate at the high court level was nearly four times the confirmation rate.
Data showed that of the 70 death sentences confirmed by high courts, the Supreme Court decided 38 and did not uphold a single one. The apex court has confirmed no death sentences between 2023 and 2025.
"Wrongful or erroneous or unjustified convictions, then, are not random or freak accidents in the Indian criminal justice system. The data indicates they are a persistent and serious systemic concern," the report said.
Over the last decade, high courts adjudicated 1,085 death sentences in 647 cases, confirming only 106 (9.77 per cent). During this period, 326 persons in 191 cases, were acquitted.
The report attributed low confirmation rates to the appellate judiciary’s concerns regarding failures in due process. "This coincides with increased Supreme Court scrutiny of safeguards at the sentencing stage," the report said.
Of the 153 death sentences decided by the apex court over the last decade, the accused were acquitted in 38 cases. In 2025 alone, high courts overturned death sentences into acquittals in 22 out of 85 cases (over 25 per cent). The same year, Supreme Court acquitted accused persons in more than half of the death penalty cases it decided (10 out of 19), the report said.
The study highlighted that 364 persons who were ultimately acquitted "should not even have been convicted and unjustifiably suffered the trauma of death row". It added that such failures extend beyond adjudication and reflect serious lapses in investigation and prosecution.
The question of remedies for wrongful convictions remains pending before the Supreme Court. In September 2025, three persons acquitted by the apex court filed writ petitions seeking compensation from the state and argued that their wrongful convictions violated their fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
"In 2022, the Supreme Court crystallised a sentencing process in Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh , and mandated all courts to follow those guidelines before imposing or confirming a death sentence," the report read.
In 2025, the apex court held in Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India that death penalty sentencing hearings form part of the right to a fair trial and stressed that capital punishment can be imposed only after a constitutionally compliant sentencing process.
"However, even at the high courts whether the process mandated under Manoj is being complied with is in doubt,” the report said.
