On the first day of autumn, a coordinated attempt targeted the Yandex Taxi platform, aiming to disrupt its normal operations. In the hours before the incident became widely known, Telegram channels started circulating chatter about a sudden buildup of taxis along Kutuzovsky Prospekt, suggesting an orchestrated surge in demand. The event drew attention from drivers and the public alike, prompting a rapid assessment of what was unfolding inside the system.
Yandex Taxi attributed the disruption to hackers who managed to push a cluster of orders to a group of drivers stationed near the Battle of Borodino panorama museum. The group was instructed to respond to these orders in a compressed window, creating the appearance of heavy traffic and overwhelming the service’s capacity controls. In response, the service’s security team acted swiftly, halting the artificial accumulation and preventing further traffic distortion. The rapid intervention helped minimize the scope of the disruption and protected the experience of riders and drivers alike.
Despite the quick countermeasures, a portion of drivers experienced delays as some orders remained in place for as long as 40 minutes. The situation underscored how a targeted manipulation could temporarily affect routing and job allocation, even when safeguards are in place. Once the threat was neutralized, taxis gradually returned to normal operations, resuming their standard routes and dispatch patterns. The company committed to reviewing the incident to identify any gaps and strengthen its defenses, with an emphasis on ensuring steadier performance for drivers during suspicious activity windows.
Looking ahead, Yandex Taxi outlined steps to compensate drivers for downtime and to refine alerting mechanisms so similar attempts are detected sooner and mitigated more effectively. The plan includes enhanced monitoring of orders for unusual clustering, faster isolation of affected zones, and clearer communication with drivers about the status of suspicious requests. These measures aim to minimize future disruption and preserve the reliability that riders rely on when planning trips or relying on ride-hailing for urgent needs.
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