Stellar healthIndia’s largest health insurer, on Saturday said it received a ransom demand of $68,000 from a cyber hacker in connection with the leak of customer data and medical records.
Star, which has a market capitalization of roughly $4 billion, is grappling with a reputational and business crisis after Reuters reported on Sept. 20 that a hacker used Telegram chatbots and a website to leak sensitive customer data, including tax data and medical claims documents.
The company, whose shares fell 11%, has launched internal investigations and taken legal action against Telegram and the hacker whose website continues to share samples of Star customer data.
Star, who previously said she was “the victim of a targeted malicious cyber attack” on Saturday revealed for the first time that in August “the threat actor demanded a ransom of $68,000 in an email” addressed to the company’s managing director and its CEO.
The statement came after Indian stock exchanges sought clarification from the Star on Friday via Reuters report that the company is investigating allegations that its chief security officer was involved in the data breach.
The Star reiterated on Saturday that it had found no wrongdoing by the official, Amarjeet Khanuja, although an internal investigation was ongoing.
Telegram refused to share the account details or permanently ban accounts linked to the hacker – a person called xenZen – “despite multiple notices issued in this regard”, the Star said on Saturday.
The Star said it had “sought assistance” from Indian cyber security authorities to “help us identify” the hacker.
Telegram did not respond to a request for comment.
The Dubai-based messaging app previously said it removed the chatbots when Reuters flagged them to the platform.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated by a syndicated channel.)
