What's the news: Policybazaar's parent entity PB Fintech on July 24 informed the stock exchanges that on July 19 certain vulnerabilities were identified in Policybazaar's IT systems and the same were subject to illegal and unauthorised access. Why does this matter? Policybazaar is a popular online insurance aggregator and broker in India with a market share of over 90 percent. The breach, therefore, puts the data of its 9 million customers at risk. The breach also follows on the heels of online travel aggregator Cleartrip reporting last week that it suffered unauthorised access to its systems and certain customer data was compromised, and an unverified claim of a data leak at Federal Bank, indicating a sudden rise in data breaches after a relative period of inactivity. What information was compromised: "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. Policybazaar has always prioritized the security and integrity of its systems and is committed towards protection of customer data," PB Fintech stated in its disclosure. What next: "The identified vulnerabilities have been fixed and a thorough audit of the systems has been initiated," the company informed. Relevant authorities have been notified: Policybazaar noted that it has reached out to the relevant authorities (CERT-In presumably) and that the information security team is currently reviewing the incident along with external advisors. "We will issue further updates on this in accordance with applicable laws," the company said. Notably, this breach took place after the new cybersecurity directions…
