Govt action in debit card data breach row to be fast: Shaktikanta

Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das on Friday promised swift action on the debit card data compromise, assuring that there is no need to panic over the feared security breach that has affected over 32 lakh cards. The government, he informed, has sought a detailed inquiry report on all aspects of the issue and appropriate action will be taken once it is received. “There is no cause for alarm. The integrity of the IT system of banks is robust and whatever action is required, the government will take promptly,” assured Das. The government, he added, is seized of the matter and reports have been called from RBI and banks to know what exactly has happened. A preliminary input “sort of report” has already come in and the government is awaiting further details from the final report, Das said. “After getting the report... whatever action is required, necessary action will be taken by the government,” he emphasised.

Earlier Das said: “Customers should not panic because these hackings are done through computer and trail can easily be reached... They should not be alarmed. Whatever action has to be taken, it will be done with speed.”

He explained that based on the report of the RBI and banks, the government would exactly know what happened. “And as you know, in the cyber world, the trail will always be there and it will be our effort to locate, to sort of trace the exact trail and locate the point of origin of where this has happened, and the government will definitely act on this,” he said.

Of the debit cards affected, about 26.5 lakh are on Visa and MasterCard platforms while 6,00,000 are on RuPay. The breach reportedly involved some 90 ATMs. Visa and MasterCard, in separate statements, claimed that their own networks had not been compromised.