In a recent cyber breach, BYKEA, the well-known ride-hailing application, fell prey to what is suspected to be an attack by Indian hackers. Users of the app across Pakistan began to receive notifications containing profane messages aimed at the country.
While the application continued to function without interruption, the same derogatory message appeared prominently within the app. From initial evaluations, it appears that the attack was primarily designed to distribute this message to all users, without disrupting the app’s core functionalities.
BYKEA’s official website was not affected by this cyber breach and the application is no longer displaying any offensive messages. Although it is yet to be definitively confirmed that the hackers were of Indian origin, the language and context of the messages seemingly indicate this.
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Cybersecurity analysts believe the hackers likely targeted BYKEA’s marketing communications tools. These tools are typically responsible for dispatching push notifications to the app’s users, and are often provided by third-party vendors.
The ride-hailing company’s official statement aligns with this analysis. However, further investigations are underway to fully understand the scope and impact of this cyber incident.
