The personal data of thousands of taxi app users in Ireland and the UK was found in a non-password-protected database.
A cybersecurity researcher discovered and reported the database which contained names, phone numbers and email addresses of nearly 300,000 taxi passengers in Ireland and the UK.
The records belonged to Dublin-based iCabbi, which provides taxi dispatch platform technology for taxi services and passengers.
The unprotected database was uncovered by cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler who wrote about the discovery on the online privacy website vpnMentor.
Mr Fowler said he immediately notified iCabbi of his findings and public access to the database was restricted the following day.
“I imply no wrongdoing by iCabbi, their partners, clients, or customers. I am also not saying the data was at risk or accessed by any other individuals,” Mr Fowler said.
He added that iCabbi acted fast and professionally to secure the data upon receiving his responsible disclosure notice.
In a statement, iCabbi said it is aware of the incident reported on vpnMentor.
“iCabbi took appropriate action and contacted the affected taxi companies,” a spokesperson said.
