📷 Image Credits: Moneycontrol
Telecom major Bharti Airtel has vehemently denied any breach of its security system following unverified reports circulating the alleged availability of details of 375 million Airtel customers for sale on the dark web. The company refuted the claims as a baseless attempt to tarnish its reputation.
A spokesperson from Airtel stated, “There has been a report alleging that Airtel customer data has been compromised. This is nothing short of a desperate attempt to tarnish Airtel’s reputation by vested interests. We have done a thorough investigation and can confirm that there has been no breach whatsoever from Airtel systems.” The denial came in response to reports suggesting the sale of personal information such as phone numbers, email addresses, Aadhaar numbers, and addresses on the dark web.
Rahul Sasi, CEO of cybersecurity firm CloudSEK, also weighed in stating that the actor behind the sale has likely aggregated previously leaked data and falsely attributed it to Airtel’s database. Sasi highlighted that it is common for threat actors to compile databases using publicly available leaked information, emphasizing the need to verify the legitimacy of such claims.
Despite the concerns raised by the reports, Airtel has reassured its nearly 375 million subscribers that their data remains secure and untampered with. The company’s statement comes in response to the growing unease among customers following the circulation of potential data breach reports, prompting Airtel to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
TechCrunch, which reviewed a data sample shared by the purported data broker, found discrepancies in the entries, casting doubt on the accuracy of the alleged breach. Some security experts have also questioned the legitimacy of the incident, further adding to the uncertainty surrounding the data breach claims.
In a swift move, the forum hosting the alleged sale removed the post shortly after it garnered attention, marking it as a potential scam. With cybersecurity experts urging caution and thorough validation of such claims, the authenticity of the alleged data breach involving Airtel remains under scrutiny amidst ongoing investigations.