- According to reports, security researcher Ehraj Ahmed detected the bug in the Airtel app.
- This bug could have leaked consumers’ names, emails, birthdays and addresses.
- Airtel resolves technical problem, No disclosure on how many users’ data was leaked due to bug.
Airtel, the country’s third-largest mobile company, on Saturday acknowledged the security flaws in its app.
According to reports, a bug was detected in the application program interface (API) of the Airtel app. This allowed hackers to steal users’ personal information based on their numbers. However, there have been no reported cases of data tampering. Due to the bug, there was a danger of leaking information of the names, emails, birthdays and addresses of millions of users.
Airtel spokesperson said that the bug problem in the app has been fixed. The company’s digital platforms are secure. Consumer privacy is of top priority importance to the company. Therefore, we bring the best solution for their safety.
How many users could the bug affect?
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Airtel had 32.50 crore active users as of September 2019. It is the third largest telecom company in India after Vodafone-Idea and Reliance Jio. In October this year, there was a bug in the API of the local search service JustDial. Due to this, the data of 150 million users of the app was leaked.
What is the law on data security in India?
There is currently no specific law on data security in India. However, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of Europe, the Government of India kept a draft of the Personal Data Protection Bill last year. It also had provisions for penalties and compensation, along with rules for collecting, storing data. The bill was approved by the Federal Cabinet on 4 December.