Ride-sharing and digital services platform Pathao has acknowledged a cybersecurity breach after a hacker group reportedly claimed to have gained access to company data and demanded a ransom to prevent the wider release of the information.
According to reports published by The Daily Dark Web, the group alleged that it had stolen approximately 133 gigabytes of data and demanded $400,000 in ransom. The hackers also claimed to have obtained access to Pathao’s internal systems and business-related information.
However, the group’s claims regarding the volume of data and the extent of access could not be independently verified.
In a statement posted on its official Facebook page on Wednesday, Pathao confirmed that an unauthorized party had gained access to certain user information.
According to the company, the compromised data includes users’ phone numbers, email addresses, names, and physical addresses. Pathao did not disclose the number of users affected by the incident.
The company said the breach occurred on October 4 and that immediate steps were taken to contain the situation once it was detected.
“Upon identifying the breach, we urgently took certain critical systems offline to prevent further damage,” the company said.
Pathao added that services were restored shortly after the disruption, although efforts to fully stabilize all systems were still ongoing. As a result, some users may continue to experience temporary service disruptions.
To address the incident, Pathao said it has engaged external cybersecurity specialists to assist with recovery and security enhancement measures.
The company also stated that it is cooperating closely with relevant authorities as part of ongoing investigations and restoration efforts.
As a precaution, Pathao urged users to remain vigilant against potential phishing attempts and fraudulent communications that may exploit the breach.The company said the breach occurred on October 4 and that immediate steps were taken to contain the situation once it was detected.
“Upon identifying the breach, we urgently took certain critical systems offline to prevent further damage,” the company said.
Pathao added that services were restored shortly after the disruption, although efforts to fully stabilize all systems were still ongoing. As a result, some users may continue to experience temporary service disruptions.
To address the incident, Pathao said it has engaged external cybersecurity specialists to assist with recovery and security enhancement measures.
The company also stated that it is cooperating closely with relevant authorities as part of ongoing investigations and restoration efforts.
As a precaution, Pathao urged users to remain vigilant against potential phishing attempts and fraudulent communications that may exploit the breach.
The company advised customers not to trust unsolicited messages, phone calls, or links claiming to represent Pathao and warned against sharing sensitive information such as passwords, PINs, or one-time passwords (OTPs) with unverified parties.
The incident highlights growing concerns about cybersecurity threats facing digital platforms and online service providers, as cybercriminals increasingly target large databases containing personal and business information.
Investigations into the breach are ongoing, and further details regarding the scale and impact of the incident may emerge as authorities and cybersecurity experts continue their assessment.
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