Careem hit by cyber attack with data of up to 14 million users stolen
Ride-sharing app Careem has reported a massive security breach in which names, email addresses, phone numbers and trip history data of customers and captains was stolen.
A hacker group managed to get access to Careem servers on 14th January 2018. The company detailed the incident in a blog post earlier today.
The personal data of up to 14 million people in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey has been stolen by online criminals in a cyber-attack on the systems of Dubai-based company.
Dear Customers, we have identified a cyber incident that took place in January 2018 involving unauthorized access to the system we use to store data. Our wider security protocol keep passwords encrypted and credit card details on a separate system. pic.twitter.com/rkcpf671ct
— Careem (@careem) April 23, 2018
Which countries were affected?
The personal data of up to 14 million people in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey was stolen by online hackers.
The account data of customers and captains – or drivers – in 78 cities in 13 countries were compromised.
What information was compromised?
The hackers breached into the company’s systems and stole data including customers’ and captains’ phone numbers, addresses, emails, usernames and trip data.
However, Careem said that there was “no evidence that your password or credit card number had been compromised”.
Still, it is advised that users review their emails, banks accounts, and credit card info and update their passwords just to be on the safe side.
What Careem did to ensure safety?
As soon as Careem detected the breach, it “launched a thorough investigation and engaged leading cybersecurity experts” to assist in strengthening the security systems. Careem is also working with law enforcement agencies.
“Throughout the incident, our priority has been to protect the data and privacy of our customers and captains. Since discovering the issue, we have worked to understand what happened, who was affected, and what we needed to do to strengthen our network defences” the statement said.