CBFC Data Leak: Film Certification Documents for 500+ Titles Posted on the Internet Archive

Documents that filmmakers filed with India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for more than 500 titles, including scripts, cut orders and distribution agreements, were posted on the Internet Archive and stayed downloadable until all the files were taken down on 12 October. The Hindu broke the story on 25 October. The board has filed a cybercrime complaint and notified CERT-In.

What was in the files

MediaNama, summarising The Hindu's reporting, says the documents came from applications filed between December 2025 and August 2026. Some distribution agreements carried unredacted licensing fees, among them the deals for The Secret Agent and Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. Deccan Chronicle says the films' video files were not leaked.

Part of it was meant to be public anyway. The summaries of cuts are public information under Section 5A(2) of the Cinematograph Act, MediaNama points out, though the board had kept them behind an "under maintenance" page.

Who posted them

Nobody has been identified. The uploader's display name was reportedly a Russian rendering of former CBFC chairman Prasoon Joshi's name. The Internet Archive told The Hindu the uploader has since deleted the account.

How the files got out hasn't been established. Digit writes that the leak "seemingly originated" from eCinePramaan, the board's online certification portal.

What the board says

The statement, which Digit attributes to the office of chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati, says the CBFC reviewed information on "alleged unauthorised access to CBFC's eCinePramaan Portal", that its technical team has analysed its servers and databases, and that a forensic examination is still going on. Digit also reports the board's assurance that filmmakers' individual accounts remain unaffected.