Clubhouse denies alleged data breach of user phone numbers

"There are a series of bots generating billions of random phone numbers," Clubhouse’s spokesperson said.

New Delhi: Clubhouse has rejected the claims of cybersecurity experts who had claimed that the audio-only social media platform had suffered a data breach in which the phone numbers of millions of its users were stolen by hackers. 

Experts had claimed that hackers are selling million of phone numbers on the dark web. The dataset of the popular audio chat app only shows mobile numbers and no other information, according to cybersecurity experts who saw the post.  

 "There are a series of bots generating billions of random phone numbers," Clubhouse’s spokesperson told IANS. "In the event that one of these random numbers happens to exist on our platform due to mathematical coincidence, Clubhouse's API returns no user identifiable information," it added.

Previously, several cybersecurity experts pointed out that the hacker is selling alleged Clubhouse data which contains only mobile numbers without names. "No names, photos or any other details are available. This list of phone numbers can be generated very easily. The data leak claim appears fake," Rajaharia told IANS.

In February this year, researchers at Stanford University in the US had warned that the app may be leaking users` audio data to the Chinese government. The Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) had claimed that Agora, a Shanghai-based provider of real-time engagement software, supplies back-end infrastructure to the Clubhouse app. Also Read: HDFC Bank's Aditya Puri top earner among bankers in FY21, check salaries of other bank chiefs

Recently, Clubhouse had announced that it is now out of beta and open to everyone. The company said that it has removed its waitlist system so that anyone can join the platform in a hassle-free manner. Also Read: Revolt Motors big update! Indian EV maker to launch more affordable e-bike Revolt RV1