LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 02: In this photo illustration, a smartphone displays the ‘Uber’ mobile application which allows users to hail private-hire cars from any location on June 2, 2014 in London, England. The controversial piece of software, which is opposed by established taxi drivers, currently serves more than 100 cities in 37 countries. London’s black cabs are seeking a High Court ruling on the claim that the Uber software is breaking the law by using an app as a taxi meter to determine rates. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 495663217 ORIG FILE ID: 495298219

In a dramatic turn of events, the IP address cited in legal proceedings by Uber in its court case looking into a massive data breach from May 2014 links to the CTO of its US rival, Lyft.

Reuters has revealed that a Comcast IP address, which had access to a security key during the breach of up to 50,000 of Uber drivers’ names and license numbers, was assigned to Lyft’s technology chief, Chris Lambert.

While the court papers do not draw a direct connection between that IP address and the one at the source of the breach, a Magistrate in the US said that getting the Comcast records was "reasonably likely" to out the "bad actor" responsible.

Earlier this week a Lyft spokesman strenuously denied the claim, and said: "There is no evidence that any Lyft employee, including Chris, downloaded the Uber driver information or database, or had anything to do with Uber’s May 2014 data breach."

He also said that the login credentials for the Uber driver database had been "publicly accessible for months before and after the breach."