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Hackers attacked a popular Russian taxi app, sending hundreds of drivers to the same address in Moscow and causing massive traffic jams. The purpose of the attack was to grab the attention of the authorities the stop the attack on Ukrain. The defaulters have anonymously taken the responsibility for the attack but the place from where the attack was generated is still unknown.
Social media was flooded with dozens of videos of tens of taxis gathering in the same place in western Moscow, creating gridlock and forcing drivers to avoid the traffic jams and tailbacks. Some social media users have described it as “like a film scene”. It is considered a rather strange approach by the hackers, though they were able to jam cause the traffic jam they could have operated with a different plan and could have had more impact on authorities.
Russia’s largest ride-hailing service, Yandex Taxi, has confirmed that it was the target of a cyberattack. The company confirmed that morning, Yandex Taxi drivers in the capital received dozens of fake orders all leading them to the same location.
“The algorithm for detecting and preventing such attacks has already been improved to prevent similar incidents in the future,” said a Yandex spokesperson to Forbes.
The company also said it would soon resolve compensation for those drivers who were paralyzed in traffic for at least 40 minutes. However, according to Forbes, the traffic jam lasted more than two hours.
Someone hacked #YandexTaxi and ordered all available taxis to Kutuzov Prospect in Moscow
Now there is a huge traffic jam with taxis.
It‘s like James Bond movie. https://t.co/IatuAEtA2i
— Russian Market (@runews) September 1, 2022
Anonymous, a group of hacktivists, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. The tweet claims that this attack is the result of the lack of humanity shown by Russia and its government following the Ukrain attack and they need to stop this madness.
In March, several Russian TV channels were hacked and their stream was replaced by footage of scenes of war in Ukraine by independent broadcasters. And even more recently, in June, a major Russian radio station was hacked and started broadcasting Ukrainian anthems and anti-war songs.
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