Taking multiple steps to ensure such data breach incidents never occur: Star Health MD

Standalone health insurance provider Star Health Insurance Ltd has taken up multiple measures including stepping up of its security mechanism following an alleged data breach recently, a top official said on Tuesday.

Star Health Insurance Managing Director and CEO Anand Roy said the company has taken up 'multiple measures' to ensure that such kind of incidents 'never occur again.' In October, Star Health suffered a data breach in which data of about 3.1 crore customers including mobile phone numbers, PAN, addresses and pre-existing medical conditions were allegedly available on a website created by a hacker identified to be xenZen.

"In a world, where there is so much inter-connectivity, when you have so many connections with different stakeholders, agents, hospitals, insurance companies, you have to be on your guard. We found that if any vulnerability is there, these hackers are able to identify them like if somebody is using weaker passwords. We have taken steps to make sure that such kind of things never happen." he told reporters.

Elaborating, he said, "multiple steps have been taken (by the company). We have also to make sure that not only it is an internal thing, but we have engaged multiple external experts also to strengthen the ecosystem." On the incident about the hackers' claim about the involvement of an employee of Star Health in the data breach, Roy said the company conducted two independent enquiries and it emerged that the claim made by the hacker to be 'untrue.' "What all the hacker was claiming, it seems to be his modus operandi as he has done with similar companies in the past. But, anyway, we did our own external enquiries and we found that it (claim about the involvement of an officer) is untrue. " he said.

He noted that this kind of incident was becoming 'rampant' and the insurance companies were targeted by many hackers. "We are taking adequate measures to make sure that such kind of things never happens again in our company," he said.

Roy and senior company officials were here to announce the launch of new insurance product 'Super Star'.

The need for the launch of such a retail insurance product was in the backdrop of the company witnessing a trend among customers who seek customised solutions, Roy said.