eMudhra Faces CERT-In Probe Over Compromised Certificates, SBI Investigates Dark Web Data Exposure

Digital trust services provider eMudhra is facing regulatory scrutiny following a process flaw that compromised eight trust certificates, raising risks related to phishing and website impersonation. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has advised users to update their browsers and operating systems, while major technology companies have moved to block the affected certificates.

According to the company, a flaw in its April 2025 key-generation process produced weaker encryption keys. eMudhra maintains that the issue is limited to its global TLS business—which accounts for approximately 1 per cent of its revenue—and does not impact its Indian digital signature operations. In response to the incident, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has formed a special team to investigate the matter. Following the news, eMudhra shares fell by over 20 per cent on Wednesday.

In a separate cybersecurity development, the State Bank of India (SBI) has reported a suspected exposure of customer data on the dark web. A preliminary analysis by the bank identified 3,897 records containing personally identifiable information, including names, mobile numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, residential addresses, and customer identifiers.

SBI stated that it has activated its cyber incident response protocols and appointed a CERT-In-empanelled agency to investigate the source and extent of the data exposure. The bank confirmed that its core operations and business continuity remain unaffected, and remedial as well as preventive measures are currently being implemented. Concurrently, the Internet Freedom Foundation has urged SBI to directly notify the affected customers and disclose further details regarding the incident.

On the macroeconomic front, US President Donald Trump stated that an India-US trade deal is "pretty close" to finalization, with only a few issues remaining. India is seeking terms to ensure its exporters do not face higher US tariffs compared to competitors such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, alongside safeguards against future tariff modifications. While an earlier interim framework envisaged an 18 per cent reciprocal tariff, subsequent US policy changes have reduced additional duties on Indian goods to 10 per cent, prompting New Delhi to push for revised terms.

"Recent developments involving eMudhra and the State Bank of India highlight the critical importance of robust cybersecurity infrastructure and proactive data governance for modern enterprises. As digital adoption scales across financial and trust services, regulatory compliance, rapid incident response, and transparent stakeholder communication are non-negotiable for maintaining market confidence. Businesses must treat cybersecurity not merely as an IT function, but as a core pillar of operational resilience." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes