Govt taxi application hacked, user data leaked

The government-backed taxi application Malé Taxi Line has been compromised in a cyberattack, resulting in the exposure of personal information belonging to users of the service.

Problems emerged on Saturday night when users reported that the application had become inaccessible. The platform had previously experienced operational issues, but users said it was no longer functioning.

The breach was later discovered after the names of some taxi drivers registered on the platform were altered.

Information subsequently circulated on social media, including personal data relating to users of the service. The leaked information reportedly included names, telephone numbers, wallet identification numbers and email addresses. Messages exchanged through the platform and details of customer trips were also shared online.

The taxi service was launched by the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) on April 2. Initially, bookings were handled through a telephone hotline before the service expanded to include online bookings through a web portal.

The Malé Taxi Line mobile application was officially launched on June 2.

The incident has renewed attention on the project, which was previously the subject of public scrutiny. The application's development contract was reportedly awarded without a competitive bidding process at a cost of MVR 13 million.

Questions were raised at the time regarding the value of the contract and the procurement process. However, MTCC has not publicly responded to allegations related to the project.

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu previously stated that he was unaware of allegations concerning possible corruption in the development of the application.

As of Saturday night, neither MTCC nor relevant authorities had issued a statement regarding the reported breach, the extent of the data exposure, or measures being taken to address the incident and protect affected users.