Uber covered up cyberattack that exposed data of 50M users: report

Uber covered up a massive cyberattack that exposed the data of 57 million passengers and drivers last year, according to Bloomberg.

Hackers reportedly stole the names, email addresses and phone numbers of 50 million Uber riders around the world in October 2016, as well as the personal information of about 7 million drivers, including about 600,000 U.S. driver’s license numbers.

No Social Security numbers or trip location details were taken, according to Uber.

But the embattled transportation company reportedly paid hackers $100,000 to delete the data and keep the breach under wraps.

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Uber this week ousted its chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, and one of his deputies for concealing the global data breach.

“None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it,” Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s new CEO, said in a statement to Bloomberg. “We are changing the way we do business.”

Uber has been battling a string of controversies this year, including probes over claims of privacy violations; revelations that the ride-hailing firm used software to evade regulators in certain locations; and allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, who stepped down as CEO this summer, first learned of the data hack in November 2016, according to Bloomberg.