Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third-largest telecom operator in the country, has more than 200 million customers. The data of all these 200+ million customers, including call records and other personal data, has been exposed. The report comes from ET Telecom, which is citing the findings of CyberX9, a cybersecurity research firm. As per the report, over 226 million Vi customers’ data which also includes 20.6 million postpaid customers for the last two years, has been exposed to the internet. But Vi has reportedly denied such a data breach.
What Data of Vodafone Idea (Vi) Customers was Exposed?
This is the data that was exposed by the vulnerabilities - call records, SMS records, internet usage details, full name, location details, residential address, Vi phone number, and more. Vodafone Idea, in turn, said that the report from CyberX9 is false and malicious as there has been no data breach. Vi had already identified a potential vulnerability in its billing communication system and had fixed that issue right away. According to the report, CyberX9 has said it reported the incident to the CERT-IN and NCIIPC on August 24, along with the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) and other nodal agencies. Vodafone Idea has been losing customers every quarter that goes by, and the telco has been unable to control the churn rate either. This poses a major problem for the company and its future. Subscribers are the heart of the telecom business, and without them, Vi won’t be able to sustain itself in the long run. Despite offering some of the best-prepaid plans in the industry, Vi has not been able to compete with Airtel and Jio in an equal capacity as them. The telco has been looked down upon by customers because of coverage issues. Vi still has the fastest 4G network in India, as per Opensignal.
