India’s Star Health sues Telegram after hacker uses app’s chatbots to leak data

By Munsif Vengattil and Aditya Kalra

BENGALURU (Reuters) – Top Indian insurer Star Health has sued Telegram and a self-styled hacker after Reuters reported that the hacker was using chatbots on the messaging app to leak personal data and medical reports of policy holders.

Star has received a temporary injunction from a court in its home state of Tamil Nadu ordering Telegram to block any chatbots or websites in India “that make available the data online,” the insurer said in public notice published in The Hindu newspaper.

Star in the notice described the incident as “illegal hacking and unauthorized accessing of the confidential, sensitive” information.

Telegram did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Reuters last week reported that an individual dubbed xenZen had made stolen data including medical reports of Star customers publicly accessible on Telegram, just weeks after Telegram’s founder was accused of allowing the app to facilitate crime.