Policybazaar's IT systems 'hacked', informs authorities

Insurance brokerage firm Policybazaar has revealed that it has identified certain vulnerabilities in its IT systems and the same were subject to "illegal and unauthorised access".  

PB Fintech, the holding firm of Policybazaar, which went public last year, confirmed that the IT system of the firm was hacked on July 19 and subsequent corrective action was taken.  

In this regard, Policybazaar has reached out to the "appropriate authorities" and is taking due recourse as per law, the company said in a stock exchange filing.  

Policybazaar, which sells a range of insurance coverage, also claims that the identified vulnerabilities have been fixed and a thorough audit of the systems has been initiated. The matter is currently being reviewed by the information security team along with external advisors. 

"While we are in the process of undertaking a detailed review, as on date, our review has found that no significant customer data was exposed," a statement from Policybazaar said. 

Founded in 2008 with the objective to bring transparency to insurance policies, Policybazaar.com started with the purpose to educate people on insurance products and with its offerings has addressed the large and highly underpenetrated online insurance markets. 

Today, it is one of India's largest insurance marketplaces storing lots of data about its policyholders including their transaction details and claims on its website that it serves over 9 million customers. 

The flagship platform of PB Fintech, which owns the fintech brand, Paisabazaar.com, and the lending and insurance marketplace in the UAE region, Policybazaar.ae, the group has backing from a host of investors including the likes of PE funds and other family offices.  

India has witnessed a spike in cybercrime incidents in recent years.  According to a recent report by US-based cyber security firm, Norton, India witnessed over 18 million cyber-attacks and threats, at an average of nearly 200,000 threats every day, in the first three months of 2022. Sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), education, healthcare, manufacturing, airline and government have been the biggest hit while no sector is completely immune.