Paytm Mall: Hackers Claim Massive Data Breach, Company Denies

Moneylife Digital Team/ IANS 31 August 2020

Economy & Nation

Online intelligence firm Cyble had claimed that a cybercrime group demanded ransom after gaining unrestricted access to the entire databases of Paytm Mall. However, Paytm Mall had denied these claims.

According to Cyble, a group with the alias 'John Wick' was able to upload a backdoor/ adminer on Paytm Mall application and website. "It appears the breach affects all accounts and related information at Paytm mall," it added.

"Our sources also forwarded us the messages where the perpetrator also claimed they are receiving the ransom payment from the Paytm mall as well," Cyble said, adding that it could not confirm if the ransom was actually paid.

A Paytm Mall spokesperson, however, told IANS that the claims are "absolutely false". "We would like to assure that all users, as well as company data, are completely safe and secure," the spokesperson said in a statement.

"We have noted and investigated the claims of a possible hack and data breach, and these are absolutely false," the statement added.

Leaking data when failing to meet hackers’ demands is a known technique deployed by various cybercrime groups, including ransomware operators, Cyble, the online intelligence firm said, adding that the perpetrator had claimed the hack happened due to an insider at Paytm Mall.

The group "John Wick" has other aliases such as "South Korea", "HCKINDIA".

In 2019, Paytm Mall had faced a fraud allegedly caused due to their junior employees.

"We invest heavily in our data security, as you would expect. We also have a Bug Bounty programme, under which we reward responsible disclosure of any security risks. We extensively work with the security research community and safely resolve security anomalies," the Paytm Mall spokesperson told IANS.

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