Bharti Airtel denies data breach of 375 million users; 'desperate attempt to...'

Telecom service major Bharti Airtel issued clarification on data leak allegations on Friday, July 5. The company denied reports of any breach of its customer data and said the claim was a desperate attempt to tarnish the brand's image.

Following the announcement, Bharti Airtel shares were trading in the green territory at ₹1,425.2, up 0.15%, on the NSE.

Taking to X, the telco said, "There has been a report alleging that Airtel customer data has been compromised. This is nothing short of a desperate attempt to tarnish Airtel's reputation by vested interests. We have done a thorough investigation and can confirm that there has been no breach whatsoever from Airtel systems."

This development comes after an account named 'xenZen' on the dark web claimed to have access to the latest database of over 375 million Airtel India customers, including phone numbers, email addresses, parents' names, and government IDs, including Aadhaar, and put it up for sale.

The stock has gained 38% since the beginning of the year and 64.6% in the past one year.