Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Telegram Data Breaches and Marketing Services (2022 and Beyond)

[jrineakter]

When discussing Telegram and marketing, it's impossible to ignore the sensitive topic of data breaches. While Telegram prides itself on privacy and end-to-end encryption for "Secret Chats," 2022 and subsequent years saw a disturbing trend where Telegram channels and bots became significant hubs for the sale and dissemination of data compromised from other platforms. This distinction is crucial for marketing services to understand.

Telegram itself did not suffer a major "core" data breach in 2022 where its own internal user data (like phone numbers, chat content from non-secret chats) iraq telegram data was directly compromised by external attackers hacking Telegram's servers. However, the platform's robust features and privacy focus inadvertently made it an attractive marketplace for cybercriminals to distribute and monetize data stolen from elsewhere.

The Real "Telegram Data Breach" Problem in 2022: A Hub for Illicit Data
Instead of Telegram's servers being directly breached, the major concerns in 2022 (and continuing into 2023-2024) revolved around:

"Infostealer" Logs: Malware designed to steal credentials, cookies, and other personal data from infected user devices became rampant. These "infostealer logs," containing sensitive information from various online accounts (banking, social media, corporate logins), were then frequently aggregated and sold or freely distributed via Telegram channels and bots. Bitsight reported in October 2024 (referencing data from 2022 onwards) finding millions of logs containing credentials via Telegram bots.
Data Breaches from Other Companies: When companies like Microsoft, Okta (LAPSUS$ breach), and Medibank (October 2022 ransomware attack) suffered data breaches, Telegram channels were often used by the attackers to publish, leak, or negotiate the sale of the stolen data. The Medibank breach, for instance, involved credentials bought via a Telegram channel.
Telegram Chatbots as Data Leakers: In some cases, as seen with the Star Health Insurance data leak (September 2024, but referencing a 2022 survey about Indian victims of chatbot breaches), malicious Telegram chatbots were created specifically to leak and monetize stolen data, exposing millions of customer records.