Hacker Claims Breaching Data Of 375 Million Airtel Users, Telco Says No Evidence Of Records Being Compromised

The alleged data breach of Airtel customers included a wide array of personal data, spanning from basic contact details to highly sensitive information.

Bharti Airtel has denied allegations of a massive data breach. Image: Airtel/X.

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Bharti Airtel, one of the country's biggest telecommunications service providers, has denied allegations of a massive data breach. The alleged data leak came to light a dark web entity operating under the name "xenZen" claimed to have infiltrated Airtel's customer database, allegedly accessing sensitive user information of the telco's 375 million subscribers.

Details Of Airtel User Data Allegedly Leaked

The alleged breach included a wide array of personal data, spanning from basic contact details to highly sensitive information. The alleged compromised data supposedly included the phone numbers of users, email addresses, residential addresses, parents' names and even government-issued identification numbers such as Aadhaar.

Airtel Dismisses Data Breach

However, Airtel has responded to these allegations, rejecting any data breach within their systems. In an official statement, the telecom giant said that the hacker has failed to provide any evidence to substantiate the claims. The telco also assured its subscribers about the robustness of its data security measures, stating that protecting customer information remains "a top priority."

"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 company said in a statement.

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— airtel India (@airtelindia) July 5, 2024

The dark web entity named "xenZen" was offering the purportedly compromised information for a hefty sum of $50,000, approximately Rs 41 lakh.

The entity wanted to receive payment in cryptocurrency. This demand for digital currency is a common tactic among cybercriminals, as it provides a layer of anonymity and makes transactions difficult to trace.