Multiple states launch probes into massive Uber breach

Multiple states including New York and Illinois have opened investigations into a massive 2016 breach at Uber that exposed data on 57 million customers.

The breach first came to light on Tuesday when Bloomberg reported that executives at the ride-hailing company paid hackers to delete the stolen data in an effort to cover up the incident. 

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a blog post that he had only recently become aware of the breach, in which hackers gained access to personal information on 57 million Uber users worldwide as well as the names and driver’s license numbers of roughly 600,000 U.S. drivers. 

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The personal information stolen included names, email addresses and phone numbers; the company said it has no evidence that trip location history, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, Social Security numbers or birth dates were accessed.

A spokesperson for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) confirmed that his office had opened an investigation into the breach.

Attorneys general offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Illinois also confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday that they would be launching their own investigations of the breach.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) said in an emailed statement that she has “been in touch with the company to get more information.”

Khosrowshahi said Tuesday that the hackers gained access to data stored on a third-party cloud-based service Uber uses and that the company’s corporate systems and infrastructure had not been breached. 

According to Bloomberg, former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick found out about the breach in November 2016, a month after it occurred. The company is said to have recently fired its chief security officer over the incident.

“None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it. While I can’t erase the past, I can commit on behalf of every Uber employee that we will learn from our mistakes,” Khosrowshahi wrote in the blog post. “We are changing the way we do business, putting integrity at the core of every decision we make and working hard to earn the trust of our customers.” 

Kalanick stepped down as CEO in June after controversies rattled the company for several months.

Updated: 2:22 p.m.