A data breach may have compromised as many as 50,000 Uber drivers
REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Katherine Tassi, Uber's managing counsel of data privacy, said an "unauthorized third party" accessed one of Uber's driver databases on May 13, 2014. Uber discovered the breach four months later on September 17.
Tassi says Uber swiftly repaired the vulnerability in the database, which contained the names and driver's license numbers of 50,000 current and former Uber drivers, across multiple states.
On Friday, the company started alerting the drivers that were impacted by the breach, though Tassi says Uber and its drivers haven't received or noticed any abuses of the leaked information.
Uber is urging drivers to monitor their credit reports in the wake of the incident.
The company also notified California's attorney general and has filed a "John Doe" lawsuit so Uber may learn the identity of the person or persons that got into the database.
Uber is no stranger to privacy concerns. Earlier this month, it was discovered that part of Uber's lost and found database was accidentally made public, Motherboard reported. As a result, both the names of customers and drivers, as well as customers' phone numbers, route information and ride identification information were all exposed and unintentionally made public.
A few months ago, Uber announced the company would be adding law firm Hogan Lovells to its privacy team. Data privacy expert Harriet Pearson - and Pearson's colleagues at Hogan Lovells - were to review and assess Uber's data privacy program.
The law firm completed its comprehensive review of Uber's privacy policies in January.
"The review was comprehensive and found that overall our Privacy Program is strong," an Uber blog post revealing the findings reads. "While Uber is encouraged by these findings, we fully acknowledge that we haven't always gotten it right."
The full statement about the data breach is available on Uber's blog.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Catan adds climate change to the latest edition of the world-famous board game
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- JNK India IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more
- Indian Army unveils selfie point at Hombotingla Pass ahead of 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas