Republican senators pressure Uber for more answers about breach

Four GOP senators are demanding more details from Uber about a cyberbreach the ride-hailing firm endured in which the accounts of 57 million users were compromised.

Lawmakers say the breach opens new security concerns despite Uber’s claims that sensitive information, such as riders’ trip history and Social Security numbers, were not stolen.

They also say that Uber’s reported payment to hackers of $100,000 to delete compromised data could be a potential violation of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations.

{mosads}“Our goal is to understand what steps Uber has taken to investigate what occurred, restore and maintain the integrity of its systems, and identify and mitigate potential consumer harm and identity theft-related fraud against Federal programs,” the senators wrote in a letter Monday to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) signed the letter.

The lawmakers provided a set of questions for Khosrowshahi to answer, including when Uber first learned of the hack, what regulators Uber has spoken with about the matter and what Uber has done to mitigate the impact of the breach.

The Republican senators are not the only lawmakers calling Congressional attention to the matter. On Monday, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) also penned a letter to Uber pressing for more details regarding the hack.

The letters follow reports that Uber sought to cover up a hack last year. Uber paid hackers $100,000 for assurances that the stolen files had been destroyed, but some reports indicate the money was also meant to keep the hackers quiet.

The firm is already being investigated by multiple states on the matter and may also face an investigation from the FTC, which says it is “closely evaluating the serious issues raised” by the breach.