Latest news with #xenZen
The Hindu
10-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Star Health hacker says they sent death threats, bullets to India executives
The hacker who leaked sensitive personal data held by Indian health insurer Star Health last year has taken responsibility for sending death threats and bullets to the company's chief executive and finance head. The hacker, who goes by the alias "xenZen", described their reprisals against Star Health and Allied Insurance Company in a March 31 email to Reuters. The news agency is reporting them for the first time. Star Health, India's biggest health insurer, has faced criticism from customers and data security experts since Reuters reported last September that xenZen had leaked sensitive client data, including medical reports. At the time, xenZen told Reuters in an email they possessed 7.24 terabytes of data related to over 31 million Star Health customers and was speaking to potential buyers for the data. The news agency hasn't independently confirmed the identity or location of xenZen, the accuracy of the facts laid out in the March 31 email or the hacker's motive for targeting Star Health and its executives, which the email ascribed to the company's denial of medical claims to certain customers. In response to questions from Reuters, Star Health's chief legal officer said in a statement the company could not comment "due to an ongoing, highly sensitive criminal investigation" related to its data leak. XenZen said they had concealed bullet cartridges in two packages sent to Star Health's head office in the southern Indian city of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu state, in February. The email included photographs that showed the packages addressed to Chief Executive Anand Roy and Chief Financial Officer Nilesh Kambli and a note inside which read: "next one will go in ur and ur peoples head. tik tik tik." Roy did not respond to a phone call requesting comment, while Kambli told Reuters Star Health's public relations team would respond on his behalf. The company did not respond to further requests for comment. The New Indian Express on Saturday reported that police in Tamil Nadu were investigating the threats and had linked them to xenZen. Tamil Nadu police did not respond to Reuters queries. Three Indian police sources confirmed an investigation was underway. They declined to be named as the matter is confidential. One police source said a man from the neighbouring state of Telangana, who the source did not name, has been arrested in recent days for allegedly helping courier the packages to Star Health on behalf of xenZen. Reuters was unable to identify the individual or the status of his detention. Globally, health care companies have been reassessing the risks for their top executives after UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson was murdered in a targeted attack in December. The killing also called fresh attention to deepening patient anger over health insurance. In the March 31 email to Reuters, xenZen referred to the killing of Thompson and said the death threats to the Star Health executives were sent after the hacker was contacted for help by customers of Star Health who had been denied claims on medical bills despite coverage plans with the company. Star Health did not comment on what xenZen described as their motive, the claims of dissatisfied customers being denied or the police investigation into the threats. Star Health launched internal investigations into last year's data leak, which the company said followed a ransom demand of $68,000 from the hacker. Star Health last September sued xenZen and messaging app Telegram for hosting the sensitive customer data on its chatbots, court papers show. The chatbots hosting the stolen data have since been deleted and the case is ongoing.
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Star Health hacker claims sending death threats and bullets to company CEO: ‘next one will go in ur…'
The hacker who was responsible for leaking sensitive personal data, including name, address, phone numbers, medical reports and other data of 31 million customers of Star Health last year, has claimed responsibility for sending death threats and bullet cartridges to the company's chief executive and finance head, a report has said. The hacker detailed these actions, described as reprisals against Star Health and Allied Insurance Company, in an email sent to news agency Reuters on March 31. Operation Sindoor 'Did not want to...': Pak def min gives absurd excuse for army's failure to withstand Op Sindoor Blackouts, sirens & Pak's failed attacks: 10 things that happened in the last 36 hrs '1971 war was not remotely as terrifying': Residents of border areas shell-shocked According to the email sent by the hacker, known as 'xenZen,' the bullet cartridges were concealed in two packages sent to Star Health's head office in Chennai in February. Photographs included in the email sent to Reuters showed the packages addressed to CEO Anand Roy and CFO Nilesh Kambli. The packages reportedly had a note inside reading: 'next one will go in ur and ur peoples head. tik tik tik.' Why hacker target one of India's largest health insurers by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Invest $200 in Amazon without buying stocks to earn a second salary Marketsall Sign Up Undo XenZen's claimed motive for targeting the executives was the company's alleged denial of medical claims to certain customers. In the March 31 email, the hacker referenced the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December, an event that drew attention to patient dissatisfaction with health insurers, and stated the threats were sent after being contacted by Star Health customers whose claims were denied. The Reuters report said that Star Health's chief legal officer issued a statement saying the company could not comment 'due to an ongoing, highly sensitive criminal investigation' related to the data leak. Star Health had previously initiated internal investigations into the data leak last year, which the company said followed a ransom demand of $68,000. The insurer also filed a lawsuit against xenZen and the messaging app Telegram last September for hosting the stolen customer data on chatbots, which have since been taken down. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
India Today
09-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
Star Health hacker claims sending bullets and death threats to top executives
The hacker who leaked sensitive personal data held by Indian health insurer Star Health last year has taken responsibility for sending death threats and bullets to the company's chief executive and finance hacker, who goes by the alias "xenZen", described their reprisals against Star Health and Allied Insurance Company in a March 31 email to Reuters. The news agency is reporting them for the first Health, India's biggest health insurer, has faced criticism from customers and data security experts since Reuters reported last September that xenZen had leaked sensitive client data, including medical reports. At the time, xenZen told Reuters in an email they possessed 7.24 terabytes of data related to over 31 million Star Health customers and was speaking to potential buyers for the data. The news agency hasn't independently confirmed the identity or location of xenZen, the accuracy of the facts laid out in the March 31 email or the hacker's motive for targeting Star Health and its executives, which the email ascribed to the company's denial of medical claims to certain response to questions from Reuters, Star Health's chief legal officer said in a statement the company could not comment "due to an ongoing, highly sensitive criminal investigation" related to its data said they had concealed bullet cartridges in two packages sent to Star Health's head office in the southern Indian city of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu state, in email included photographs that showed the packages addressed to Chief Executive Anand Roy and Chief Financial Officer Nilesh Kambli and a note inside which read: "next one will go in ur and ur peoples' head. tik tik tik."Roy did not respond to a phone call requesting comment, while Kambli told Reuters Star Health's public relations team would respond on his behalf. The company did not respond to further requests for New Indian Express on Saturday reported that police in Tamil Nadu were investigating the threats and had linked them to Nadu police did not respond to Reuters Indian police sources confirmed an investigation was underway. They declined to be named as the matter is police source said a man from the neighbouring state of Telangana, who the source did not name, has been arrested in recent days for allegedly helping courier the packages to Star Health on behalf of was unable to identify the individual or the status of his healthcare companies have been reassessing the risks for their top executives after UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson was murdered in a targeted attack in December. The killing also called fresh attention to deepening patient anger over health the March 31 email to Reuters, xenZen referred to the killing of Thompson and said the death threats to the Star Health executives were sent after the hacker was contacted for help by customers of Star Health who had been denied claims on medical bills despite coverage plans with the Health did not comment on what xenZen described as their motive, the claims of dissatisfied customers being denied or the police investigation into the Health launched internal investigations into last year's data leak, which the company said followed a ransom demand of $68,000 from the Health last September sued xenZen and messaging app Telegram for hosting the sensitive customer data on its chatbots, court papers show. The chatbots hosting the stolen data have since been deleted and the case is Watch
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Star Health hacker says they sent death threats, bullets to India executives
By Munsif Vengattil, Praveen Paramasivam and Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) -The hacker who leaked sensitive personal data held by Indian health insurer Star Health last year has taken responsibility for sending death threats and bullets to the company's chief executive and finance head. The hacker, who goes by the alias "xenZen", described their reprisals against Star Health and Allied Insurance Company in a March 31 email to Reuters. The news agency is reporting them for the first time. Star Health, India's biggest health insurer, has faced criticism from customers and data security experts since Reuters reported last September that xenZen had leaked sensitive client data, including medical reports. At the time, xenZen told Reuters in an email they possessed 7.24 terabytes of data related to over 31 million Star Health customers and was speaking to potential buyers for the data. The news agency hasn't independently confirmed the identity or location of xenZen, the accuracy of the facts laid out in the March 31 email or the hacker's motive for targeting Star Health and its executives, which the email ascribed to the company's denial of medical claims to certain customers. In response to questions from Reuters, Star Health's chief legal officer said in a statement the company could not comment "due to an ongoing, highly sensitive criminal investigation" related to its data leak. XenZen said they had concealed bullet cartridges in two packages sent to Star Health's head office in the southern Indian city of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu state, in February. The email included photographs that showed the packages addressed to Chief Executive Anand Roy and Chief Financial Officer Nilesh Kambli and a note inside which read: "next one will go in ur and ur peoples head. tik tik tik." Roy did not respond to a phone call requesting comment, while Kambli told Reuters Star Health's public relations team would respond on his behalf. The company did not respond to further requests for comment. The New Indian Express on Saturday reported that police in Tamil Nadu were investigating the threats and had linked them to xenZen. Tamil Nadu police did not respond to Reuters queries. Three Indian police sources confirmed an investigation was underway. They declined to be named as the matter is confidential. One police source said a man from the neighbouring state of Telangana, who the source did not name, has been arrested in recent days for allegedly helping courier the packages to Star Health on behalf of xenZen. Reuters was unable to identify the individual or the status of his detention. Globally, health care companies have been reassessing the risks for their top executives after UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson was murdered in a targeted attack in December. The killing also called fresh attention to deepening patient anger over health insurance. In the March 31 email to Reuters, xenZen referred to the killing of Thompson and said the death threats to the Star Health executives were sent after the hacker was contacted for help by customers of Star Health who had been denied claims on medical bills despite coverage plans with the company. Star Health did not comment on what xenZen described as their motive, the claims of dissatisfied customers being denied or the police investigation into the threats. Star Health launched internal investigations into last year's data leak, which the company said followed a ransom demand of $68,000 from the hacker. Star Health last September sued xenZen and messaging app Telegram for hosting the sensitive customer data on its chatbots, court papers show. The chatbots hosting the stolen data have since been deleted and the case is ongoing.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Star Health hacker says they sent death threats, bullets to India executives
By Munsif Vengattil, Praveen Paramasivam and Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) -The hacker who leaked sensitive personal data held by Indian health insurer Star Health last year has taken responsibility for sending death threats and bullets to the company's chief executive and finance head. The hacker, who goes by the alias "xenZen", described their reprisals against Star Health and Allied Insurance Company in a March 31 email to Reuters. The news agency is reporting them for the first time. Star Health, India's biggest health insurer, has faced criticism from customers and data security experts since Reuters reported last September that xenZen had leaked sensitive client data, including medical reports. At the time, xenZen told Reuters in an email they possessed 7.24 terabytes of data related to over 31 million Star Health customers and was speaking to potential buyers for the data. The news agency hasn't independently confirmed the identity or location of xenZen, the accuracy of the facts laid out in the March 31 email or the hacker's motive for targeting Star Health and its executives, which the email ascribed to the company's denial of medical claims to certain customers. In response to questions from Reuters, Star Health's chief legal officer said in a statement the company could not comment "due to an ongoing, highly sensitive criminal investigation" related to its data leak. XenZen said they had concealed bullet cartridges in two packages sent to Star Health's head office in the southern Indian city of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu state, in February. The email included photographs that showed the packages addressed to Chief Executive Anand Roy and Chief Financial Officer Nilesh Kambli and a note inside which read: "next one will go in ur and ur peoples head. tik tik tik." Roy did not respond to a phone call requesting comment, while Kambli told Reuters Star Health's public relations team would respond on his behalf. The company did not respond to further requests for comment. The New Indian Express on Saturday reported that police in Tamil Nadu were investigating the threats and had linked them to xenZen. Tamil Nadu police did not respond to Reuters queries. Three Indian police sources confirmed an investigation was underway. They declined to be named as the matter is confidential. One police source said a man from the neighbouring state of Telangana, who the source did not name, has been arrested in recent days for allegedly helping courier the packages to Star Health on behalf of xenZen. Reuters was unable to identify the individual or the status of his detention. Globally, health care companies have been reassessing the risks for their top executives after UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson was murdered in a targeted attack in December. The killing also called fresh attention to deepening patient anger over health insurance. In the March 31 email to Reuters, xenZen referred to the killing of Thompson and said the death threats to the Star Health executives were sent after the hacker was contacted for help by customers of Star Health who had been denied claims on medical bills despite coverage plans with the company. Star Health did not comment on what xenZen described as their motive, the claims of dissatisfied customers being denied or the police investigation into the threats. Star Health launched internal investigations into last year's data leak, which the company said followed a ransom demand of $68,000 from the hacker. Star Health last September sued xenZen and messaging app Telegram for hosting the sensitive customer data on its chatbots, court papers show. The chatbots hosting the stolen data have since been deleted and the case is ongoing.
