In what is being touted as India’s largest ever data leak, personal information of over 815 million Indian citizens has allegedly been exposed online. The hacker, known by the pseudonym ‘pwn0001’, claims to have obtained this data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) during COVID-19 testing.
Details of the Leak
The leaked data includes sensitive personal details such as names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and even Aadhaar numbers. The hacker ‘pwn0001’ reportedly posted this stolen data on the data breach and discussion forum – Breach Forums.
A threat actor, known as X, who was previously on Twitter, is now promoting a database on the dark web. This database includes information on 815 million Indian citizens, such as Aadhaar and passport details, as well as their names, phone numbers, and addresses. The threat actor asserts that the data was acquired from the Covid-19 test records of citizens and originated from ICMR, according to News 18.
American cybersecurity and intelligence agency Resecurity was the first to bring this information to light. As a result of this breach, private data of more than 815 million Indians has been exposed online.
Verification of the Data
To ascertain the veracity of this data, a portion of it was cross-verified using the ‘Verify Aadhaar’ feature released by the government. The results confirmed that all the Aadhaar details posted are indeed accurate.
Response from Authorities
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has yet to respond to these claims. However, the Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) has issued a warning to ICMR regarding this data leak, according to a report by News18.
This incident underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures in safeguarding sensitive personal information. As investigations continue, it remains to be seen what steps will be taken to address this significant breach.
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