Indian Court Tells Star Health to Share Details of Leak so Telegram Can Delete Chatbots

An Indian court in the southern state of Tamil Nadu has told insurer Star Health to help Telegram identify data leaked via its messaging app so the chatbots can be deleted.

The country’s biggest insurer with roughly $4 billion (roughly Rs. 33,628 crore) market cap approached the Madras High Court in the southern state of Tamil Nadu after Reuters reported on September 20 that a hacker had leaked sensitive customer data including medical claim papers and tax details through Telegram chatbots.

The Madras High Court judge Justice K Kumaresh Babu directed the insurer to share information after Star Health requested the court direct Telegram to take immediate action and remove bots linked to the data leak.

Telegram said it was unable to search for leaks on its own but agreed to delete the data if the insurer helped.

On Friday, Telegram’s lawyer Thriyambak Kannan told the court that the messaging app needs Star Health to identify and share the details of the chatbots leaking the data.

The Dubai-based messenger app has previously said it removed the chatbots when Reuters flagged them to the platform.

Star Health faces a ransom demand of $68,000 (roughly Rs. 57 lakh) and is also investigating allegations that its chief security officer was involved in the data leak, but earlier this month said it had so far found no evidence of wrongdoing. The officer previously declined to comment.

The leak involves personal information which is very confidential, Star Health’s lawyer told the court.

The case will resume after two weeks.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

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