BENGALURU, Sept 29 (Reuters) - U.S. software firm

Cloudflare ( NET ) has denied any role in hosting two websites run by a

hacker offering for sale stolen personal data and medical

records of customers of top Indian insurer Star Health.

The statement comes after the company was made party to an

Indian lawsuit filed by Star Health last week, in which the

insurer alleged that Cloudflare ( NET ) hosted the websites in question.

"Cloudflare ( NET ) is not the host for the domains in question,"

the firm told Reuters, adding that it works as a pass-through

service situated between a website host and an end-user, which

is why one may see a Cloudflare IP address.

Star has also sued Telegram and the self-styled hacker

xenZen, after Reuters reported that sensitive personal data,

from telephone numbers to copies of identity cards and blood

reports of its customers, were publicly accessible via Telegram

chatbots.

The websites and Telegram bots were inaccessible on Sunday.

Star did not immediately respond to a request for comment

outside regular business hours in India.

Earlier, Star said initial assessment showed "no widespread

compromise", adding that sensitive customer data remained

secure.

The company has received a temporary injunction from a court

in its southern home state of Tamil Nadu ordering Telegram and

the hacker to block any chatbots or websites in India that make

the data available online.

Last week Telegram told Reuters any newly-created bots

attempting to share this data were probably removed in a massive

sweep of its searchable content.

The Star lawsuit comes as global scrutiny of Telegram grows

following last month's arrest of its founder Pavel Durov in

France, with the app's content moderation and features allegedly

abused for illegal activities.

Durov and Telegram denied wrongdoing and said they were

tackling the criticism.