A prominent vehicle-for-hire and parcel delivery company based in Pakistan has suffered a significant data breach which affected its extensive user database.
The Safety Detectives cybersecurity team, led by head researcher Anurag Sen, discovered the elastic server vulnerability during routine IP-address checks on specific ports.
In this instance, our team discovered that Karachi-based company Bykea had exposed all its production server information and allowed access to over 200GB of data containing more than 400 million records showing people’s full names, locations and other personal information that could potentially be harnessed by hackers to cause financial and reputational damage.
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The Elastic instance was left publicly exposed without password protection or encryption which meant anyone in possession of the server’s IP-address could access the database and potentially remove data from it.
It appeared that in September 2020, Bykea suffered a separate breach, during which unidentified hackers reportedly deleted the company’s entire customer database. At the time, Bykea said it was unaffected by the intrusion because it kept regular backups.
In response, Bykea’s CEO Muneeb Maayr described the cyberattack as “nothing out of the ordinary” given that Bykea is a mobility-based tech firm. It remains unclear whether this latest breach is related to the hack attack in September.
Founded in 2016 by Pakistani entrepreneur Muneeb Maayr, Bykea is a transportation, logistics and cash on delivery payments company, headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. The company was one of the first to introduce the novel concept of “motorbike taxis”, used as a means of transport and delivery. Currently, the company offers its range of taxi services in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore.
Bykea also operates as a vehicle-for-hire and parcel delivery company and maintains a software app offering users access to all its services via Google Play and App Store.
Earlier: Personal Information Leaked Online of 44 million Pakistani mobile phone users
The company is an on-demand logistics provider that has embraced mobile demand and ubiquitous internet connectivity to fuel its rapid growth in recent years. The company raised almost US$6 million from private investors in 2019 and followed up by raising a further US$11 million this year. In total, Bykea has raked in US$22 million in private equity from notable investment groups such as Prosus Ventures, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and Sarmayacar since 2016.
The exposed server contained API logs for both the company’s web and mobile sites and all production server information. The 200GB database containing 400 million records was located on a production server that stores regularly updated data including internal logs including user details.
More specifically, the server contained personally identifiable information (PII) for both customers and contracted employees – their drivers, called “partners” by Bykea.
Bykea customer’s PII:
Bykea partners’ (drivers’) PII:
Other information was also left unsecured, such as:
Our team discovered Bykea’s server contained customer invoices showing full trip information including where customers were picked and dropped off, driver arrival times, trip distances, fare details and more.
Our team also found Bykea’s internal employee login and unencrypted password information on the unsecured server.
Moreover, Bykea had existing commercial relationships with other Pakistani companies including K-Electric, EasyPaisa and JazzCash allowing customers to pay their electricity bills, get cash and send money with the assistance of a Bykea driver and its app. This data was also stored on Bykea’s database and exposed in the leak.
Customer’s electric bill payment
| Number of records leaked: | 400+ million |
| Number of affected users: | Unknown |
| Size of data breach: | 200+ gigabytes |
| Server location: | Boydton, United States |
| Company location: | Karachi, Pakistan |
Our security team discovered Bykea’s vulnerability on 14 November 2020. Upon contacting the company on 24 November, Bykea responded immediately by securing its database within 24 hours.
From the large number of discovered records and the type of information made available, several negative outcomes could occur including identity theft, fraud, and phishing scams.
Full names, residential address details, ID documents like CNIC, online login information and location data could potentially be exploited by nefarious users to target unsuspecting people that registered with the company. Car registration and vehicle data could potentially be used to conduct insurance fraud and other heinous crimes involving stolen identities.
Also, user email addresses could be targeted by hackers who typically use deceptive methods such as infusing leaked customer data into email communications to trigger clickthroughs to malicious websites and installing malicious software.
Moreover, website backend data could be harnessed to exploit Bykea’s internal IT infrastructure including its app and website to generate ransomware attacks or simply to cripple its servers. Back-end technical logs expose not only personal information but also, data that can be weaponised to obtain full control of the server.
How can you prevent your personal information from being exposed in a data leak and ensure that you are not a victim of attacks – cyber or real-world – if it is leaked?
SafetyDetectives.com is the world’s largest antivirus review website. The Safety Detective research lab is a pro bono service that aims to help the online community defend itself against cyber threats while educating organizations on how to protect their users’ data. The overarching purpose of our web mapping project is to help make the internet a safer place for all users.
Our previous reports have brought multiple high-profile vulnerabilities and data leaks to light including 400 gigabytes of scraped Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn user data affecting 200+ million users, as well as, around 2 million users’ information being leaked by Indian e-learning platform Edureka.
Research Snipers is currently covering all technology news including Google, Apple, Android, Xiaomi, Huawei, Samsung News, and More. Research Snipers has decade of experience in breaking technology news, covering latest trends in tech news, and recent developments.
