(Yicai) Nov. 29 -- Didi Chuxing Technology said the glitch this week that interfered with the Chinese ride-hailing giant’s app was down to a software problem and was not the result of hackers.

An investigation revealed that the cause of the glitch was a failure of the underlying system software, not a cyberattack, the Beijing-based company said today.

On the evening of Nov. 27, many Didi app users were unable to book rides or pay for journeys, drivers could not receive orders, while its bike-sharing service users also had problems, such as when returning bikes. The next morning, Didi said the issues were caused by a system failure, which had already been fixed.

The glitch hit all of Didi's apps, meaning that the cause was internal, an expert at Chinese cybersecurity giant 360 Security Technology told Yicai before Didi released the results of its own investigation.

The reason was likely due to programming mistakes or abnormal situations left unhandled after a system upgrade, the expert said, noting that internet firms usually upgrade their systems at night, which is when the issue occurred.

An expert at another cybersecurity firm speculated that the malfunction was probably mainly due to Didi’s major internal business adjustments. New businesses may have been connected to the system without an emergency plan, leading to a major malfunction in the businesses or systems, the person noted. That is the most common reason for system glitches at big companies, he added.  

Didi's systems use a multi-cloud service structure provided by its cloud service partners Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding. Didi also boasts its own cloud computing services. Zhang Bo, co-founder and chief technology officer, previously disclosed that most of its ride-hailing services are based on Tencent's cloud services.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione