Hackers were able to cause a two-hour long traffic jam in downtown Moscow this week by taking control of Russia's largest cab firm.

According to Twitter reports, hackers manipulated the Yandex Taxi app and ordered every available cab to the same place at once.

The street, known as Kutuzov Prospect in Moscow, was jammed for hours as cab drivers found themselves unable to get out of the area.

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It's uncertain exactly who was behind the attack but the jam was caused outside a Stalinist-era building, Hotel Ukraine.

This has led some to suggest it could be linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Anonymous has claimed it as part of their 'OpRussia' but their role is unconfirmed.

A spokesperson for the taxi company told Southfront: "The security service promptly stopped attempts to artificially accumulate cars. Drivers spent about 40 minutes in traffic due to fake orders. The issue of compensation will be resolved in the very near future."

They added that "the algorithm for detecting and preventing such attacks has already been improved" to help prevent future attacks of this kind.

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While this hack took place using the Yandex app, it highlights the dangers that hackers could pose once self-driving cars become a reality.

Known widely as the 'Russian Google', Yandex Taxi operates in more than 1000 cities across Russia and other countries, and is one of the world's biggest companies working on self-driving technology.

If a fleet of AI-powered cabs could be taken over by hackers, there's no knowing what damage could be caused, with everyone from cyber criminals to armies being able to cripple entire towns and countries.

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