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.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member
New Delhi (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha, marking the end of his two-decade rule in the eastern state and paving the way for a new chief minister.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan in his chamber at a brief ceremony. The Chairman later welcomed him as a member of the Upper House and also on his return in Parliament.
Kumar took the oath in Hindi in the presence of Union Minister J P Nadda, who is also leader of the house, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary was also present at the oath-taking.
JDU leader and party's working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh, besides BJP MP and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and BJP chief whip in Lok Sabha Sanjay Jaiswal, were among those present during the oath-taking.
"Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, administered the oath to Shri Nitish Kumar as an elected Member of Rajya Sabha, from Bihar, at Parliament House today," the Vice President's office said on X, while sharing pictures of the oath-taking.
After the oath-taking, Kumar came out of the new Parliament building and spoke about the time he was a member of the Lok Sabha and sat in the old Parliament building.
As Kumar assumes the Rajya Sabha role, it marks the end of his long two-decade rule in Bihar. Kumar will soon resign as chief minister and the NDA is likely to elect a new chief minister of Bihar on April 14.
He has already resigned as a member of the State Legislative Council on March 30 after he was elected to Rajya Sabha.
The JD(U) supremo was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16, and he had to quit as an MLC in the 14-day period after his election.
