Uber was legally obliged to report the hack but instead paid hackers $100,000 to delete the data and keep quiet about the breach, Bloomberg reported.
SAN FRANCISCO — Personal information about 57 million Uber customers and drivers was stolen by hackers last October, a breach the company kept hidden for a year and for which its chief security officer was fired this week.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the stolen data including names, email addresses and phone numbers of 50 million Uber riders and 7 million drivers.
The drivers’ stolen information also included 600,000 US. driver’s license numbers.
Uber was legally obliged to report the hack but instead paid the hackers $100,000 to delete the data and keep mum about the breach, Bloomberg reported.
Uber’s new president Dara Khosrowshahi this week asked for the resignation of its chief security officer Joe Sullivan and also fired Craig Clark, a senior lawyer who reported to Sullivan, Bloomberg reported.
In a statement to its users, Uber said it did not believe they needed to take action. «We have seen no evidence of fraud or misuse tied to the incident. We are monitoring the affected accounts and have flagged them for additional fraud protection,» the statement read.
The fine comes as the ride-hailing company continues to be battered by lawsuits for assault against its contractor drivers and struggles to polish a brand image that has been tarnished by a sexist corporate culture that toppled cofounder and CEO Travis Kalanick.
Uber has a history of playing fast and loose with regulators. In Portland, Ore. it created and used a tool called “greyballing” in 2014 to thwart attempts by city regulators attempting to track the service.
The company also fired executive Eric Alexander after press reports emerged that he had flown to India and illegally obtained the medical records of a woman who was raped by her Uber driver there, in an attempt to discredit her.
The former autonomous vehicle unit of Google, Waymo, has sued Uber, saying it hired former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski who stole 14,000 files of trade secrets before leaving Google in January 2016. The suit alleges the files helped Uber improve its LiDAR technology. Uber has countered that the suit is just an attempt to stall a competitor in the potentially lucrative race for autonomous car tech.
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