Airtel users can breathe a sigh of relief because the flaw has been fixed by Airtel after BBC highlighted the issue
MUMBAI| On Saturday With close to 325 million active subscribers, India’s third-largest telecom operator Airtel was unaware of a big loophole in its App’s application programming interface (API), which could be easily exploited by hackers to access personal data of users by just using their mobile number.
Ehraz Ahmad, a Bengaluru-based security researcher was able to find the bug in the App.
This loophole could make it possible for hackers to easily access the users’ personal information like name, address, birthday, email ID and IMEI number by just using their mobile number.
Airtel users can breathe a sigh of relief because the flaw has been fixed by Airtel after BBC highlighted the issue before them.
According to the BBC, Airtel spokesperson has acknowledged that there was a technical issue in one of testing APIs, which was addressed as soon as it was brought to notice.
Also Read: Telecom Triple-threat : Vodafone Idea v/s Airtel v/s Jio
Will Airtel be penalized for this flaw?
Till date, India lacks legislation that deals with data protection. During this Winter Session of the Parliament, Prime Minister Modi led cabinet approved the Personal Data Protection. The bill is set for consideration and passing after introduction.
The Bill regulates the processing of personal data of individuals (data principals) by government and private entities (data fiduciaries) incorporated in India and abroad.
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