“I’ll just Uber home.”
Who hails a taxi anymore? These days, city streets are full of double-parked sedans with their hazards on, looking for their charges. Uber is synonymous with ridesharing and has made it so far into our culture that it’s not just a company name but a verb.
Uber’s reputation has ebbed and flowed since its creation in 2009, and it’s taken another hit recently as more details are coming to light about a massive 2016 cybersecurity breach and the chief security officer’s attempts to cover it up.
What Happened in the 2016 Uber Breach?
In 2016, a ransomware group trawled the internet and gathered Uber’s credentials that opened the door into the company’s server database. The cybercriminals then stole the information of customers and drivers alike and held it for a $100,000 Bitcoin ransom. Joe Sullivan, Uber’s chief security officer at the time, paid the ransom and the criminal group agreed to delete the information they uncovered. While it’s not uncommon for large corporations to give in to cybercriminals and dole out huge ransom payments, Sullivan is facing potential jail time because he didn’t report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission. He was recently found guilty of wire fraud and concealing a felony from authorities.
Uber account holders had their personally identifiable information in nefarious hands without their knowledge. The cybercriminals allegedly downloaded the names, email addresses and phone numbers of 57 million Uber customers and drivers, plus the license plate numbers of 600,000 drivers.1
Why It’s Important for Companies to Report Leaks
Organizations have a responsibility to their customers to report any cyberbreaches. With a full name, email address, and phone number, cybercriminals can inflict a lot of ..
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