A data leak at the Central Board of Film Certification exposed scripts and distribution agreements for over 500 films through the e-Cinepramaan portal. The CBFC said it is investigating the incident and started a security audit. These files included sensitive business deals and cut orders that were accessible online.
A data leak at the Central Board of Film Certification exposed certification records, scripts, and distribution agreements for over 500 films through the e-Cinepramaan portal.
Imagine working on a film and keeping its script and business deals private, only to find that these documents may have ended up online. That’s the concern facing the film industry after a reported data leak involving the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
According to a report by The Hindu, records linked to more than 500 film titles were reportedly exposed online. These included shooting scripts, cut orders and distribution agreements. The CBFC is investigating the incident and has begun a security audit of its online portal.
The leaked files were not the films themselves. Instead, they reportedly included scripts, documents showing cuts requested during certification and other paperwork submitted by filmmakers. These files were allegedly accessed through the CBFC’s online portal, e-Cinepramaan. Launched around a decade ago, the portal allows filmmakers to submit documents when they apply for certification.
According to The Hindu, the documents remained accessible online for several days. They were available for download through the Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library that saves online content. The material was reportedly taken down after the issue came to light.
But why is this a big deal? A film script can reveal parts of a story before audiences get to see it. Certification records can also contain details about changes made to a film. Such information may be sensitive, especially when a movie has not yet been released.
The reported leak was not limited to scripts. Some of the documents reportedly included distribution agreements for The Secret Agent, a Brazilian film that was an Academy Award nominee, and the Hollywood film Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.
According to The Hindu, at least three agreements identified in the report revealed the fees paid to license films. These contracts can contain important business details, such as how money is shared, who owns the rights to a film, what promotional work is required and what conditions producers and distributors must follow.
If such information gets into the wrong hands or becomes public, it could create problems for the people involved. It could also affect future deals and negotiations across the film industry.
The CBFC has said it is investigating the alleged breach and checking the security of its portal. After reviewing the information shared about the unauthorised access, the board said it had found no evidence of further access to the documents claimed to have been exposed.
The board also said the user involved had stopped uploading files after the portal became unavailable for several hours on October 4. It added that there was no indication that individual filmmakers’ accounts had been compromised and promised a thorough security audit.
The Internet Archive told The Hindu that the account linked to the incident had been taken down. It also said it had filed a complaint with cybercrime authorities. India’s cybersecurity agency, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), was informed as well.