One of the biggest health insurance companies in India, Star Health and Allied Insurance, is facing a serious data breach with the personal information of over 31 million of its customers leaked and sold on Telegram.
According to reports from Reuter, the hacker stole a lot of data, including copies of ID cards that date back to July 2024, names, phone numbers, residence addresses, some tax info, and medical reports.
A security researcher named Jason Parker was the first to discover this beach. When he found out that a Telegram user with the username “xenZen” was selling the stolen data on the platform. The seller is said to possess over 7 terabytes of data related to Star Health customers. They are selling it in bulk for $150,000 or 100,000 access for $10,000.
Hackers Used Chatbots to Sell Stolen Data
Based on the report, the data was shared using Telegram chatbots. That made it easy for people to access them easily without revealing their identity. Two chatbots were found to be sharing the Star Health data.
One provided PDF versions of claim documents, while the other allowed users to request samples from a dataset containing policy numbers, personal details, and medical information. Telegram has been alerted of the breach and the chatbots were taken down within 24 hours. However, there are reports that the hackers have created new bots to continue the sales.
The platform claimed to have used a combined effort of AI and active monitoring to identify harmful content. However, the fact that the hacker could create new chatbots shows more needs to be done to protect users’ data.
Telegram Risks Ban in India
Meanwhile, this beach is happening just a few weeks after Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France. According to previous reports, the platform was accused of involving in illegal activities. Although Durove was released, he remains under judicial supervision and is told to report to any police station once a week.
Now, this breach, together with Durov’s recent arrest has become a catalyst for the Indian government to begin its deep investigation into the platform for illicit activities. Depending on whatever evidence they find, the platform may face a ban from the county.
What is Star Health saying?
Star Health has also recognized the breach and reported it to necessary authorities. In a statement, the company said its initial reports showed “no widespread compromise” of its customers’s data. However, the leaked data tells a different story as Reuters was able to download more than 1500 files from the chatbots.
It is important to know that this is not the first time such an event has happened in India. Cyberattacks are becoming more common in the country and hackers often use platforms like Telegram to conduct their illegal activities as they can easily move large amounts of data without compromising their identity.
A survey by NordVYP in 2022 said that India accounted for 12% of the victims in a global market for stolen data sold through chatbots. In short, the platform is now seen as a haven for cybercriminals.
