Is Reliance Jio the next Zomato for hackers?

Is Reliance Jio the next Zomato for hackers?

In what can be described as the country’s biggest data heist, hackers have seemingly breached the security of Jio – the Reliance mobile service- and walked away with data of more than 120 millions subscribers. At stake are the individual details like mobile number, email IDs, first name, last name, SIM activation date and circle, though Reliance refuted the leak. It said the details of subscribers are wrong, misleading and unathenticated.

The details found their way to an obscure website going by the name magicapk.com, according to another website fonearena.com. The later site revealed that details of Reliance Jio sim holders’ details are accessible over magicapk.com. The news went viral over the social networking platforms creating a huge hue and cry among the aggrieved. The security protocol of the service provider – Jio- is being seriously questioned for its safety. Millions have queued up for long hours to lay their hands on Reliance Jio sim when introduced in the late 2016. The dubiously named magicapk.com (no connection with Pakistan, though), traced to Mumbai ip address, went defunct after a few hours of the newsbreak. This data theft comes close on the heels of data hack of the users of Zomato – the online food delivery player.

Responding quickly to the news of unprecedented data leak, Reliance Jio released a press statement assuring its subscribers that all necessary steps are being taken. In a bid to mollify the enraged subscribers- majority of them lured in by the Reliance Jio sim 4g plans- the press note adds that details on magicapk.com are not reliable and not authentic. Assuring its loyalists of the security of their data, Reliance said, "We have come across the unverified and unsubstantiated claims of the website and are investigating it. Prima facie, the data appears to be inauthentic. We want to assure our subscribers that their data is safe and maintained with highest security. The data is only shared with authorities as per their requirement. We have informed law enforcement agencies about the claims of the website and will follow through to ensure strict action is taken."

Senior officials in the Ministry of Information Technology asserted that sensitive details such as pan card and aadhaar card numbers of Reliance Jio subscribers were not breached, adding that “there are no reasons for panic”. "It cannot be breached easily , and the government is always alert against any such hacking,"- a senior ministry official revealed on the condition of anonimity. Another commented that such details are in public domain as many subscribers recharge their phones via a third party website. Most recharge service providers have such basic details of subscribers using their platforms.

It would be wise to not test or share Reliance Jio number with any unauthorised website, even if it's just to verify if your details are listed on the said website.