Star Health, one of India’s largest insurers, has filed a lawsuit against Telegram and a self-identified hacker after a Reuters report revealed that the hacker had been using chatbots on the platform to leak personal data and medical records of policyholders. The legal action follows increasing global scrutiny of Telegram, including the recent arrest of its founder, Pavel Durov, in France. While Telegram and Durov have denied any wrongdoing, they are actively addressing the concerns related to content moderation and misuse of the app.
In response, Star Health obtained a temporary injunction from a court in Tamil Nadu, ordering Telegram and the hacker to block any chatbots or websites in India that are distributing the leaked data. A copy of the court order confirmed this directive.
Additionally, Star Health has taken legal action against Cloudflare Inc., a U.S.-listed software firm, accusing it of hosting the websites where the leaked data is available.
The Madras High Court, in its order dated September 24, quoted Star Health as saying, “Confidential and personal data of … customers and of the plaintiff’s business activities in general has been hacked and leaked by using the platform (of Telegram).” Star, a publicly traded company with a market cap of over $4 billion, disclosed the details of the lawsuit for the first time in an advertisement published in The Hindu on Thursday.
The court has issued notices to both Telegram and Cloudflare, and a hearing on the case is scheduled for October 25.
Star Health’s advertisement also highlighted the company’s request for an injunction to prevent Telegram and Cloudflare from using the trade name “Star Health” or making any of its data available online.
Telegram, which allows users to create chatbots, has become one of the largest messaging platforms globally, boasting 900 million active monthly users.
