Careem, the ride-hailing company based in Dubai, revealed today it was the victim of a cyber breach.
Hackers accessed the names, email addresses, phone numbers and trip data of anyone who signed up for Careem prior to January 14. Careem said there’s no evidence the hackers accessed passwords or credit card information.
While the breach involved access to Careem’s data storage system for 14 million riders and 558,800 drivers (called captains), the company said it hasn’t seen any evidence of fraud or misuse.
Careem said it became aware of the security incident back in January. Since then, Careem said it has conducted an investigation and strengthened its security systems.
The company waited until now to tell people because “we wanted to make sure we had the most accurate information before notifying people,” the company wrote in a blog post.
“We take the protection of our customers and captains’ data very seriously,” the company wrote. “We have a team of leading cybersecurity experts who have been working with external security firms to constantly monitor our systems, build and enhance our security fences, and react immediately to potential threats. In addition, we are working with law enforcement agencies.”
Careem currently operates in 13 countries, which includes 90 cities. Careem says it’s the leading ride-hailing app in MENA, Turkey and Pakistan.