Yandex Taxi App Hijacked

Yandex Taxi was in center of attack controversy. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, numerous attacks are conducted against Russia.

Yandex Taxi is owned by Yandex, Russia’s leading IT corporation, also called Russian Google.

After hacking the Yandex Taxi app, the unknown hackers created a massive traffic jam in Moscow, Russia. On September 1st, 2022, motorist complaints emerged after they witnessed an unusual accumulation of taxis in the Russian capital’s western area.

The attackers ordered all available taxis to a particular address, and an unprecedented traffic jam ensued as dozens of Yandex drivers were stuck due to being in the exact location.

The cabs were directed to one of the main avenues in Moscow, Kutuzovsky Prospekt, which is widely known for the Stalinist-era building called Hotel Ukraina (Hotel Ukraine).

The traffic jam lasted three hours. Yandex’s security team quickly addressed the standstill and promised to improve the algorithm to prevent such attacks in the future.

The hackers bypassed the company’s security mechanisms and created multiple bogus orders, sending all the drivers to the same place

The online hacktivist collective Anonymous has taken the responsibility for the cyber attack. In cooperation with the IT Army of Ukraine this attack was conducted.