Star Health Massive Data Breach Shocks the Country: Over 31 Million Customer Data Leaked
Following the lawsuit that Star Health had filed against Telegram and an unknown hacker two weeks ago and amidst the arrest of Telegram Founder and CEO Pavel Durov, a massive data breach has taken place in the country. The name of Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd. has again made the news and this time, the hacker who is responsible claims that the data was allegedly sold by a senior executive of the company.
Read more about the news below.
Star Health Data Breach – One of India’s Massive Data Breaches
While it is still unclear whether the hacker responsible for this current data breach is the same hacker that Star Health sued two weeks back or not, via the website that has been created now, over 31 million personal data of Star Health customers is at risk. The hacker who has been identified as ‘xenZen’ has listed the entire data set on the website for $150,000 and as smaller batches of 100,000 entries for $10,000 each. 500 data samples have also been provided on the website.
Identity thefts, phishing attempts, targeted scams, financial fraud, account takeover, extortion, and hacking of other related accounts are all some serious consequences that can happen due to such a data leak.
What is more shocking is that, this time, the name of a Senior Star Health Executive has also been linked to the data breach as the hacker claims that the data was sold to him by this person. The hacker also adds that more money was later demanded for backdoor access to information.
An ongoing investigation is currently taking place and the company acknowledged that it was the victim of this cyber attack. The investigation being led by independent cyber security experts, closely working with government and regulatory authority, is duly being reported to the insurance and cyber security regulatory authorities of the country. The company has also approached the Madras High Court regarding the matter as well.
Star Health also adds that Amarjeet Khanuja, the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer of Star Health, and the accused senior executive, has been cooperating well with the investigation and so far nothing has been found to prove his involvement in the matter. It should also be noted that the operations of the company will not be affected and all services will be provided to customers without any disruptions.
