Airtel Denies Data Breach Allegations Amid Controversy Over User Information Sale

Airtel Africa Olusegun Ogunsanya
Airtel Africa
In response to allegations of a massive data breach, Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator, has vehemently denied any compromise of its systems.
Following thorough internal investigations, the company has confirmed that no unauthorized access occurred.
Reports had surfaced suggesting a data broker was offering to sell personal information of approximately 375 million users, encompassing sensitive details such as phone numbers, email addresses, Aadhaar IDs, and residential addresses.
However, Airtel has dismissed these reports as malicious attempts to besmirch its reputation by vested interests.
A data sample which was reviewed from the broker, noted inconsistencies.
Security experts, including Rahul Sasi from CloudSEK, indicated that the data might not exclusively originate from Airtel but could be an amalgamation from various sources.
In response to the controversy, the cybercrime forum where the data was allegedly posted took swift action, removing the post and permanently banning the broker’s account due to suspicions of fraudulent activities.
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