 "Star Health Insurance")
Star Health and Allied Insurance (Star Health) on Wednesday said that a thorough and rigorous forensic investigation, led by independent cybersecurity experts, is underway into the cyberattack they have been subject to. They are working closely with government and regulatory authorities at every stage of this investigation, including by duly reporting the incident to the insurance and cybersecurity regulatory authorities, apart from filing a criminal complaint.
Further, the company said its chief information security officer (CISO) has been co-operating in the forensic investigation by external cyber experts, and the company has not found any wrongdoing by him to date.
A data breach recently at Star Health's servers reportedly put up for sale on the messaging platform Telegram sensitive data of 31 million customers, amounting to an estimated 7.24 terabytes.
The leaked information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, tax details, and even medical records of the policyholders. The breach reportedly involved a hacker who claimed that Star Health’s CISO, Amarjeet Khanuja, sold the data for $150,000.
A viral social media post by Deedy Das shared an alleged email exchange between Khanuja and the hacker.
In response to the development, Star Health issued a statement saying, “We also want to categorically mention that our CISO has been duly co-operating in the investigation, and we have not arrived at any finding of wrongdoing by him to date. We request that his privacy be respected as we know that the threat actor is trying to create panic.”
Earlier, Star Health had also filed lawsuits against both Telegram and Cloudflare, accusing them of facilitating the data leak. The Madras High Court had also issued a temporary injunction, asking Telegram to block any chatbots distributing the leaked information.
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In its statement, the health insurer urged all platforms, hosting companies, social media channels, and users to take swift and decisive action to halt such activities and comply with the orders of the High Court.
“We have robust security measures in place, and Star Health assures its customers and partners that their privacy and data security are paramount to us, and we are unwavering in our commitment to ensure their continued trust and confidence.”
It also added that the data breach does not affect the current operations of the company.
 "The data breach of Star Health and Allied Insurance is a “huge problem” if sensitive information of about 31 million customers, reportedly amounting to 7.24 terabytes, is offered for sale, industry experts have warned, saying that the gravity of the")
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