UBER Technologies Inc failed to disclose a massive breach last year that exposed the data of some 57 million users of the ride-sharing service, the company's new chief executive officer said on Tuesday.
Discovery of the company's handling of the incident led to the departure of two employees who led Uber's response to the incident, said Dara Khosrowshahi, who was named CEO in August following the departure of founder Travis Kalanick.
Khosrowshahi said he had only recently learnt of the matter himself.
The company's admission that it failed to disclose the breach comes as Uber seeks to recover from a series of crises that culminated in the Kalanick's ouster in June.
"None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it," Khosrowshahi said in a blog post.
According to the company's account, two individuals downloaded data from a web-based server at another company that provided Uber with cloud-computing services.
The data contained names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers of some 57 million Uber users around the world. The hackers also downloaded names and driver’s licence numbers of some 600,000 of the company's U.S. drivers, Khosrowshahi said in a blog post.
Bloomberg News reported that Uber's chief security officer Joe Sullivan and a deputy had been ousted from the company this week because of their role in the handling of the incident. The company paid hackers $100,000 to delete the stolen data, according to Bloomberg.
Though such payoffs are rarely discussed in public, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation officials and private security companies have told Reuters in the past year that an increasing number of companies have made payments to criminal hackers who have turned to extortion.
None have previously come to light that aimed to suppress breaches that would have required public disclosure, such as those involving protected personal information.
Sullivan did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Sullivan, formerly the top security official at Facebook Inc, is a former federal prosecutor and one of the most admired security executives in Silicon Valley.
Kalanick learnt of the breach a month after it took place, in November 2016, as the company was in negotiations with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over the handling of consumer data, according to Bloomberg.
Uber representatives did not respond when asked to comment on the Bloomberg report.
Khosrowshahi said he had hired Matt Olsen, former general counsel of the U.S. National Security Agency, to help him figure out how to best guide and structure the company's security teams and processes.
"While I can’t erase the past, I can commit on behalf of every Uber employee that we will learn from our mistakes," he said. "We are changing the way we do business, putting integrity at the core of every decision we make and working hard to earn the trust of our customers."
Reuters
Tue Nov 21 2017
Dara Khosrowshahi attends a meeting with Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles (not pictured) in Brasilia, Brazil October 31, 2017. REUTERS / File
Warga emas nyaris maut digigit tikus
Doktor yang melakukan ujian awal mendapati buah pinggang lelaki itu telah rosak selain mempunyai platelet darah rendah.
Pelajar Columbia sifatkan NYPD kejam, ngeri
Polis New York City menahan berpuluh-puluh penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin yang bersembunyi di Hamilton Hall, Columbia.
AWANI Ringkas: Selesaikan isu bekalan air, susulan cuaca panas
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI Pagi: Berita tumpuan & menarik di astroawani.com [3 Mei 2024]
Antara fokus Awani Pagi bersama Geegee Ahmad & Nursyazwani Saiful Sham
Microsoft umum pelaburan AI, infrastruktur awan AS$2.2 bilion di Malaysia
PM arah Agensi Pintu Masuk dan Sempadan Malaysia jalan tugas serta-merta
Siti Bainun kekal bersalah abai, aniaya Bella
Microsoft umum pelaburan AI, infrastruktur awan AS$2.2 bilion di Malaysia
PM arah Agensi Pintu Masuk dan Sempadan Malaysia jalan tugas serta-merta
Siti Bainun kekal bersalah abai, aniaya Bella
Delegasi Hamas akan ke Mesir untuk rudingan gencatan senjata - Ismail Haniyeh
Delegasi Hamas akan ke Mesir bagi meneruskan perbincangan secara tidak langsung dengan Israel untuk gencatan senjata di Semenanjung Gaza.
Pembinaan semula Gaza ambil masa berdekad lamanya
Pembinaan semula infrastruktur kediaman yang musnah di Gaza akan mengambil masa sehingga 2040.
Sudah lebih 40 hari Aliff tidak bercakap dengan Bella, anak-anak
Aliff berasa takut untuk mendengar suara Bella setelah sekian lama tidak menghubungi isterinya itu.
Aliff Aziz 'buka mulut’ isu ditangkap khalwat dengan Ruhainies
Enggan tuding jari pada Bella Astilah yang didakwa menjadi dalang, sebaliknya, anggap itu kesilapan sendiri.
Dana RM30 juta untuk misi sedia program peningkatan kemahiran belia India - Steven Sim
Inisiatif itu akan menekankan latihan di bidang-bidang kritikal yang memenuhi kehendak industri dan keperluan negara.
HRD Corp peruntuk RM10 juta program kemahiran belia India
Dana RM10 juta yang diperuntuk di bawah HRD Corp bagi pelaksanaan inisiatif Kemahiran India Malaysia (MISI) Kementerian Sumber Manusia (KESUMA)-Unit Transformasi Masyarakat India (MITRA) akan diguna bagi menyediakan program peningkatan kemahiran kepada golongan belia komuniti itu di negara ini
COVID-19: Uber buang 3,000 pekerja lagi dalam gelombang kedua
Ini merupakan gelombang pemberhentian kedua terbesar dalam tempoh dua minggu.
CEO Uber jangkakan pengkomersialan 'teksi terbang' dalam tempoh 5-10 tahun
Dara Khosrowshahi, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) Uber Technologies Inc berkata beliau melihat pengkomersialan perkhidmatan teksi terbang atau dikenali sebagai Uber Air akan menjadi realiti dalam masa
Kebocoran data Uber: Tiga pegawai kanan letak jawatan
Tiga pengurus kanan unit sekuriti Uber Technologies Inc's meletak jawatan susulan kebocoran data besar-besaran yang menjejaskan 57 juta penumpang dan pemandu seluruh dunia pada 2016.