Star
Health,
India’s
biggest
health
insurer,
on
Saturday
said
it
had
received
a
ransom
demand
of
$68,000
from
a
cyberhacker
in
connection
with
a
leak
of
customer
data
and
medical
records.
Star,
which
has
a
roughly
$4
billion
market
cap,
is
battling
a
reputational
and
business
crisis
since
Reuters
reported
on
Sept.
20
that
a
hacker
had
used
Telegram
chatbots
and
a
website
to
leak
customers’
sensitive
data,
including
tax
details
and
medical
claim
papers.
The
company,
whose
shares
have
declined
11%,
has
launched
internal
investigations
and
has
taken
legal
action
against
Telegram
and
the
hacker,
whose
website
continues
to
share
samples
of
Star
customers’
data.
Star,
which
has
previously
said
it
is
a
“victim
of
a
targeted
malicious
cyberattack“,
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
chief
executive.
The
statement
came
after
Indian
stocks
exchanges
sought
clarifications
from
Star
on
a
Friday
over
a
Reuters
report
that
the
company
was
investigating
allegations
that
its
chief
security
officer
was
involved
in
the
data
leak.
Star
reiterated
on
Saturday
it
has
found
no
wrongdoing
by
the
official,
Amarjeet
Khanuja,
though
the
internal
investigation
is
ongoing.
Telegram
has
declined
to
share
the
account
details
or
permanently
ban
accounts
linked
to
the
hacker
–
an
individual
dubbed
xenZen
–
“despite
multiple
notices
issued
in
this
regard,”
Star
said
on
Saturday.
Star
said
it
has
“sought
the
assistance”
of
Indian
cyber
security
authorities
to
“help
us
identify”
the
hacker.
Telegram
did
not
respond
to
a
request
for
comment.
The
Dubai-based
messenger
app
has
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
auto-generated
from
a
syndicated
feed.)