Information Of 14 Million Users Stolen After Careem Hit With Cyber Attack
Popular regional ride-sharing service Careem hit with a data breach, it’s just been announced.
The data of 14 million users of the app, which has customers in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey was stolen by cyber criminals.
Names, email addresses, phone numbers, as well as trip data was lifted before the company was made aware of the breach on January 14.
Credit card and password information was not stolen, according to a post on Careem’s website, which states that information is saved on a separate server.
The user data of over 14 million Careem users was lifted in January 2018
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
Careem has released a detailed and transparent post on the incident
Read it here
Going forward, Careem has acknowledged the importance of user information and has outlined a plan to prevent further attacks. The statement reads:
“We regularly review and update our security systems – this time it wasn’t enough to prevent an attack. While no organisation is completely immune to the threat of cybercrime, we are committed to meeting these threats and protecting the privacy and data of those that have placed their trust in us.
We apologise for what has happened but rest assured, Careem has learned from this experience and will come out of it a stronger and more resilient organisation. We remain dedicated to our mission of supporting the millions of captains and customers in the region who depend on Careem to earn a living and get around.
If you have any further questions, email our team at securityupdate@careem.com.”
