Uber settles after two years

Since the last the post is regarded the new Facebook scandal, this post will continue in analyzing past and present technology-based company scandals. At the end of September, the cab-like transportation company, Uber, officially ended 2016 violated data laws with a settlement in late September of 2018. The 2016 hack caused controversy as Uber waited a year to disclose the hack to the general public resulting in the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of 57 million people to be leaked. Additionally, Uber paid the hackers $100,000 to keep the incident from becoming public. After a month of the cover-up, an Uber chief executive opened an investigation.

After the opening of the investigation, Uber became embroiled in a company-wide scandal. This led to the nearly two-year courtroom battle which eventually ended in a settlement of $148 million dollars. In addition to the settlement, Uber is being forced to change their company culture to promote more ethical practices. A program will be available for employees to flag or file any suspicious activity. In addition, the company is will undergo regular audits in their security practices by a third party auditor.

I didn’t know about the Uber scandal in 2016 until I found this article discussing the settlement for the two-year-old cover-up. I assume that I didn’t use Uber, Lyft, or anything similar until this year. Even as an occasional user, I was disturbed to find that Uber attempted to cover-up their privacy hacks for as long as they did. I found it even more troubling that they tried paying off their own hackers so that they could avoid a legal and public embarrassment. It’s shocking to see that more and more companies that are used frequently in our society becoming victims of privacy or data hacks. All the while trying to cover up the leaks which stir even more controversy. However, it’s a great reminder for all users of any system in which their personal information is attached to be cautious of the content they push or companies they support.