SWVL, one of Kenya’s fastest-growing ride-hailing companies, took a huge hit when their security was breached. According to reports by the ride-hailing service on the 3rd of July, they were hacked and customer data was exposed.

SWVL Hacked! Everything You Need To Know

Someone "accessed" the SWVL system illegally. pic.twitter.com/8mDJEtXGkJ

— Mtembezi ™ (@AdamMaina_) July 6, 2020

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How Serious Was The Breach?

SWVL says the company was subject to illegal and unauthorized access to its IT infrastructure. Investigations are still ongoing but as of now, the information accessed is restricted to names, email addresses and phone numbers.

The company claims that no credit card information was accessed but we can’t ignore the fact that our phone numbers and emails are still important information that no one else should have.

What Did SWVL Do About It?

In a bid to move forward from the security breach, SWVL is taking a couple of steps to keep themselves from falling prey to any other attacks in future. This includes the:

• Regeneration of all their access keys to their systems
• Signing out all the customers from their accounts
• Reviewing all access privileges to their systems
• Reviewing all firewall and access controls
• Strengthening areas to their infrastructure to increase security and resistance to attacks

SWVL says that after being hacked they have now secured the vulnerability and that customers information is now safe. However, for your own safety, please follow the steps below.

What can you do About It?

Whenever there is a hack, there are a few common steps one should take before continuing to use the service:

• Update your passwords to your SWVL account and all other accounts with similar details. “Choose a superman strong password.”
• Beware of scam artists and fraudsters. SWVL says they will never email, call or text you for any personal details including your passwords. If you get any such calls, immediately report it to the SWVL team.