Indian Insurer Sues Telegram Over Data Leak

Photo: Reuters Dado Ruvic Illustration

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.

The lawsuit comes amid growing scrutiny of Telegram globally and the arrest of its founder Pavel Durov in France last month, with the app’s content moderation and features allegedly abused for illegal activities. Durov and Telegram denied wrongdoing and are addressing the criticism.

Star has received a temporary injunction from a court in its home state of Tamil Nadu ordering Telegram and the hacker to block any chatbots or websites in India that make available the data online, according to a copy of the order.

Star has also sued U.S.-listed software firm Cloudflare in the lawsuit, saying the leaked data on websites were hosted using its services.

“Confidential and personal data of … customers and of the plaintiff’s business activities in general has been hacked and leaked by using the platform (of Telegram),” the Madras High Court order dated September 24 quoted Star as saying.

Star, a listed entity with a market cap exceeding $4 billion, made details of the lawsuit public for the first time in a newspaper advertisement in The Hindu on September 26.