The hackers who gained access to Uber's systems in 2016 pleaded guilty to computer fraud conspiracy charges in 2019. However, the breach was covered up by Uber's former chief security officer, Joseph Sullivan.
In the 2016 Uber data breach, hackers accessed personal information of 57 million users and drivers, including names, emails, and phone numbers, and demanded a $100,000 ransom to delete the data. The breach became controversial when Uber's chief security officer, Joseph Sullivan, allegedly covered it up by paying the hackers and having them sign non-disclosure agreements, instead of reporting the incident. This cover-up was later uncovered, leading to legal action against Sullivan.
The Uber data breach of 2016 occurred in October 2016 and affected approximately 57 million Uber user accounts, including both drivers and riders, with hackers gaining access to personal information stored on an Amazon server; the company did not publicly disclose the breach until November 2017.
The Uber data breach in 2016 occurred because hackers were able to gain access to sensitive user data by exploiting a security vulnerability where Uber engineers had accidentally exposed private authentication information on a public GitHub repository, allowing the hackers to access Amazon Web Services credentials and steal data from 57 million Uber users and drivers; the breach was further compounded by Uber's subsequent attempt to cover up the incident by paying off the hackers to delete the stolen data instead of properly notifying affected users.
The hackers gained access to Uber user data stored on an Amazon server by exploiting a security vulnerability.
Go to Page 2