India’s Airtel denies data breach reports despite growing customer concerns

Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator, denied any breach of its systems on Friday following reports of an alleged security lapse that has caused concern among its customers.

The telecom group, which also sells productivity and security solutions to businesses, said it had conducted a “thorough investigation” and found that there had been no breach whatsoever into Airtel’s systems.

The telecom giant, which has amassed nearly 375 million subscribers in India, dismissed media reports about the alleged breach as “nothing short of a desperate attempt to tarnish Airtel’s reputation by vested interests.”

The company’s statement follows unconfirmed reports of a potential data breach circulated in local outlets and on social media, prompting worry among Airtel’s subscriber base.

A purported data broker emerged on a known cybercrime forum this week, offering for sale the alleged personal information of approximately 375 million users, including phone numbers, email addresses, Aadhaar identification numbers, and residential addresses.

Earlier this week, a news outlet reviewed the data sample shared by the broker and found some discrepancies in its entries. Some security experts have also questioned the legitimacy of the alleged incident.