On Tuesday, 13th June, a Pakistani bike-hailing and parcel-delivery app named Bykea was hacked. Several Pakistanis started receiving abusive notifications cursing Pakistan after the hacking. Several users of the app complained to the app owners over the abusive messages they received.
Upholding their tradition of blaming India for everything wrong in Pakistan, several Pakistani blamed India for it, alleging that Indian hackers hacked the app. Several others speculated if it was a marketing strategy of Bykea’s marketing team. Meanwhile, many wondered if someone at Bykea was not having a good day and it was an insider job.
The first notification, which featured offensive language, flashed on users’ screens at about 12:10 p.m., followed by another notification 40 minutes later, notifying users in Urdu/Hinglish that the application was still hacked. “Are b** valo abhi tak app hacked hai,” stated the notification.
One Hammad Naseem shared a picture of the abusive notification he received from Bykea on his smartwatch.
#bykea hacked pic.twitter.com/H9ymvgk5v3
— Hammad Naseem (@hammad__naseem) June 13, 2023
Another user named Shariq posted a similar screenshot, and wondered if someone was not having a good day at Bykea as he wrote, “what is this some one is not having a good day at Bykea?
wait what 😂😂😂😂 @bykeapk what is this some one is not having a good dag at byeka #bykea #bykeapk pic.twitter.com/maJw85VC9b
— شارق سلیم💓 (@n_shariq) June 13, 2023
Another user Yashfa posted a message saying that the app is still hacked. She seemed to have received intelligence input that the app was hacked by Indians as she tweeted, “Our neighbours have nothing better to do.”
Our neighbours have nothing better to do 🤣🤣 #bykea pic.twitter.com/n1iGgDeyxn
— Yashfa (@BiryaniWoman) June 13, 2023
Another Twitter user wrote, “I think I have downloaded the wrong Bykea,” posting a screenshot of the abusive message.
I think I have downloaded the wrong bykea pic.twitter.com/Fm7OetwM7g
— Asim Munir Stan Acc (@YaarGuruu) June 13, 2023
Some Twitter users opined that the bike-hailing app’s marketing team could have been behind the abusive notifications.
Bykea hacked or its Marketing tactics?🌚#bykeahacked pic.twitter.com/rA9lRBWLcT
— Rao Muhammad Usman (@Rao_MUsman) June 13, 2023
Bykea IT and PR Bykea marketing
— Saltafa (@saltafa) June 13, 2023
Team Team thinking of
The free exposure: pic.twitter.com/BnjZVNB1Tw
The incident also triggered a meme-fest on Twitter.
Hackers who hacked bykea pic.twitter.com/A7BR7pSfqR
— فیضان (@faizanriaz7_) June 13, 2023
BYKEA app today 🤔#bykea #bykeahacked pic.twitter.com/nxRXLa85uA
— Bi_lal_ki_memes (@bi_lal_ki_memes) June 13, 2023
Bykea today: pic.twitter.com/aEL3SoMgkn
— Huriam 🕊 (@ffshuriam) June 13, 2023
Soon after, an apology was issued by the Bykea app through its Twitter handle. The company also confirmed that the third-party communication tool was compromised, however, it has been restored.
#Bykea pic.twitter.com/ywlgCswRhK
— Bykea – Moving People, Parcels & Payments (@bykeapk) June 13, 2023
Meanwhile, the CEO of Bykea app, Muneeb Maayr said that a laptop used by one of his employees working at the Karachi office was accessed by someone outside the country. He added that their third-party communication tool lacked two-factor authentication, allowing the hackers to breach the system and gain access to the application. Maayr, however, did not reveal the name of the compromised tool.
According to Bykea’s Facebook page, the app and the service are available in various Pakistani cities, including Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Wah.
