Vi Allegedly Exposed Data of 301 Million Customers, Telco Denies Claim

Data exposed is said to include phone numbers, addresses, call logs, SMS records, and mobile Internet usage details of Vi customers.

By Nithya P Nair | Updated: 29 August 2022 12:00 IST

Vi Allegedly Exposed Data of 301 Million Customers, Telco Denies Claim

Photo Credit: Pexels/ Sora Shizamaki

CyberX9 discovered multiple vulnerabilities in the system of Vodafone Idea

Highlights

Data of Vi's entire postpaid customers reportedly leaked online
Vi denied the data breach, calling the report false and malicious
Leaked data might have been used by hackers

Vi (formerly Vodafone Idea) has exposed the data of its users—which includes records of more than 20 million postpaid customers — to hacking, claims cyber security company CyberX9. Phone numbers, addresses, call logs, SMS records, and mobile Internet usage details of around 301 million customers including all postpaid users were found to have leaked online. Vodafone Idea later refuted the data breach, calling the report false and malicious. It reportedly claimed that the potential vulnerability in its billing communication was immediately fixed after the Telecom company learned about it.

As per a report by cybersecurity firm CyberX9, multiple vulnerabilities with Vi have exposed call records, SMS details, Internet usage details, location details, full name, Vi phone number, residential address, alternate contact number, bill details and more of nearly 301 million customers. They claimed that the exposed data includes records of the 20 million customers subscribed to the telecom giant's postpaid services. The call data records exposed allegedly include personal details comprising Vi customer's phone number and alternate contact number, residential address, and details about their family members.

"This would permanently damage millions of Vodafone Idea customers privacy and security", said CyberX9. The company further alleged Vodafone Idea of exposing sensitive data of customers for the last two years saying that the leaked data might have already been stolen by malicious hackers.

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Vodafone Idea, meanwhile, denied the claim. Gadgets360 reached out to the company for a comment on the issue, and received the following statement from a Vi spokesperson:

“There is no data breach as alleged in the report. The report is false and malicious. We learnt about a potential vulnerability in billing communication. This was immediately fixed and a thorough forensic analysis was conducted to ascertain no data breach. We have notified appropriate agencies and made due disclosures."

"Vi customer data remains fully safe and secure," Vi added.

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Further reading: Vodafone Idea, Vi, Vodafone Idea Data Leak, Cyberx9

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More