Tips on how to protect yourself after Careem data breach

Looks like Facebook is not the only one to have its data breached. The famous ride-hailing app Careem admitted on Monday evening that user data of around 14 million customers was hacked.

The service, however, provided a few steps that customers can take to protect themselves. The popular ride-hailing service announced that the service was affected by a cyber incident on January 14 that led to unauthorized access to the system and hacking of user and driver data. However, those customers and captains that signed up after January 14 were safe from the breach.

Careem informed customers of few steps they can be taken in order to keep their information safe. To begin with, they have advised the customers to update Careem password and also on those accounts where similar details have been used. They asked users to choose a password containing strong mix of characters and not to use the same password for multiple sites.

Google collects way more user data than Facebook

It is also important that the customers remain watchful of any such services that ask for personal details or refer to a web page asking users for personal data. The users have been warned not to click on links or download attachments that come from unfamiliar emails.

Users should also keep a check on the bank account and credit card statements for any suspicious activity, and if detected, users’ should instantly contact their respective banks. Data including the name, email address, phone number and trip data was hacked, however, Careem claims that there was no evidence whether the password or credit card information was hacked too.

They did not announce about the number of accounts hacked but a representative told Khaleej Times, “20 million customers have signed up across our platform. We are currently in 14 countries and close to 100 cities. Fourteen million of these customers were affected by the incident.”

Apologizing for the attack, Careem immediately took steps by launching a thorough investigation. They wrote, “We take the protection of our customers and captains’ data very seriously. 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 wrote in their blog post that the reason they took so long to inform people was because they wanted to make sure they had the ‘most accurate information before notifying people’. They announced that despite the attack, the service is still operating.