Published in News

Uber hid a hack

by on22 November 2017


Paid off the hackers

Controversial taxi outfit Uber sat on news that it had been hacked and 57 million customers and drivers had their details released.

The 2016 breach was hidden by the ride-sharing firm which paid the hackers $100,000 to delete the data and pretend it never happened.

The company's former chief executive Travis Kalanick knew about the breach over a year ago. The hackers found 57 million names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers, Uber said.

Within that number, 600,000 drivers had their names and licence details exposed.

Drivers have been offered free credit monitoring protection, but according to Uber's statement, affected customers will not be given the same treatment.

Uber's chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said: "While we have not seen evidence of fraud or misuse tied to the incident, we are monitoring the affected accounts and have flagged them for additional fraud protection.

"None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it. While I can't erase the past, I can commit on behalf of every Uber employee that we will learn from our mistakes."

In the wake of the news, Uber's chief security officer Joe Sullivan has apparently left the company.

The hack was carried out by two hackers who accessed a private area of Github, where they found Uber's log-in credentials to Amazon Web Services.

However, it is the cover-up which will be the biggest mess for Uber. Companies are required to disclose significant data breaches to regulators, something it has by its admission failed to do in this case.

In January it was fined $20,000 for failing to disclose a considerably less serious breach in 2014.

Uber's new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi appears to be starting as he means to go on. In his statement about the data breach, he said the company needed to be open and honest if is to "repair our past mistakes".

 

Last modified on 22 November 2017
Rate this item
(0 votes)

Read more about: