'Happened in 2023': Angel One responds to report of data leak of 8 mn users

The hacker claims to have accessed sensitive data, including profit and loss statements of affected customers of the Mumbai-based stock broking company

Financial services company Angel One reportedly suffered a massive data breach, impacting nearly 7.9 million customers, The Economic Times reported on Wednesday.

A hacker has leaked personal information, including names and addresses of the affected users on a website. The hacker claims to have accessed sensitive data, including profit and loss statements of affected customers, which they said, have not been disclosed yet, the report added.

The report also cited a cyber security consultant who believes that data is from around 2023.

On the development, Angel One confirmed that the incident pertains to 2023 breach and no new data leak has happened.

"We want to confirm that Angel One's customer data is secure, and there has been no new data leak incident. The current issue pertains to an incident that occurred in April 2023, which was promptly reported to the relevant authorities. We assure you that this incident has no impact on client securities, funds, or credentials, and all client accounts remain secure," the company said.

Angel One suffered data breach in 2023

The Mumbai-based stock broking firm had suffered a data breach in April last year. According to a report by media company Inc42, the firm had then reported a data breach impacting an undisclosed number of customers, but maintained that information related to funds and securities were safe.

The firm said that malicious actors had gained access to the names, mobile numbers and the email addresses of the affected users.

Concerns around cyber security risks in stock broking

The stock broking industry has witnessed significant growth lately, driven by the increasing interest of the general public in investing in mutual funds and stock trading.

As of March 2024, the number of demat accounts in India reached an all-time high of 151 million, indicating a substantial surge in investment activity. Demat or dematerialised accounts are a prerequisite to trade shares in the share market.

The growing trading activity in India has also raised concerns about cybersecurity in the industry due to the influx of huge amounts of data.

India faced over 2,100 weekly cyber attacks per organisation in 2023

According to cyber security firm Check Point, India suffered 2,138 weekly attacks per organisation in 2023.

According to Cisco’s 2024 Cybersecurity Readiness Index, merely 4 per cent of Indian organisations have a ‘mature’ level of readiness to deal with cyber security related risks. The report said that about 37 per cent of the organisations in India are at the ‘progressive’ stage.

Globally, just 3 per cent of the organisations are ‘mature’, according to the report.