Telangana police's Hawk Eye app hacked; data of over 2 lakh users leaked [details]

Telangana Police's Hawk Eye app has reportedly been hacked, leading to a significant data breach. This has affected ,ore than 200,000 users, whose names, complaints, email IDs, phone numbers, and locations, including SOS travel details, have been leaked.

The breach was discovered when hacker "Adm1nFr1end" posted the app's data on the data leak site BreachForums last week. The hacker claims to have a leaked dataset comprising of 130,000 SOS records, 70,000 incident reports, and 20,000 traffic violations. In order to substantiate these bold claims, the hacker posted sample records dated May 2024. The leaked data, besides personally identifiable info, includes IMEI numbers and location coordinates.

The data breach is a matter of huge concern for women in using the app in Hyderabad to share SOS travel requests. For instance, one woman who had traveled in a cab on April 1 from Gangaram in Chandanagar to Narapally, had her name, mobile number, cab details, and travel time exposed. Similarly, other personal information of women have been leaked.

Shockingly, a woman who had reported a threat to her life from a man and his family after refusing to marry, had her name, email ID, and complaint details exposed. This puts her at grave risk.

Telangana Police has not officially confirmed the hack or the authenticity of the leaked data. Sources in the Telangana Police revealed to CyberExpress that they are pushing out patches and updating the app with enhanced security features in an expedited manner.

Hawk Eye

Telangana Police launched the Hawk Eye app in December 2014 with the aim of making citizen-police interactions seamless. The app has over lakh downloads on Google Play Store and critically acclaimed for its functions. Users can use the app to report a wide range of activities, including traffic violations, criminal information, and crimes against women. It also features an SOS button for emergencies.