Former Uber CSO Charged in Hack Cover-up

The charges stem from a 2016 attack in which 57 million records were breached.

Dark Reading Staff, Dark Reading

August 21, 2020

1 Min Read
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Joe Sullivan, Uber's former CSO, has been charged with obstruction of justice and misprision of a felony following a 2016 hack of the ride-share company. If convicted, Sullivan faces a maximum of five years in prison for the obstruction charge and a maximum of three years in prison for the misprision charge.

In 2016, Uber suffered a breach of personally identifiable information for 57 million Uber drivers and riders. According to the complaint, Sullivan "took deliberate steps to conceal, deflect, and mislead the Federal Trade Commission about the breach."

Sullivan had given testimony to the FTC regarding a 2014 breach approximately 10 days before learning of the 2016 breach. Rather than report the second breach, Sullivan led an effort that took many steps to avoid disclosure.

The breach was publicly disclosed, and Sullivan fired, after a change in CEO in 2017. The company ultimately paid nearly $150 million in fines for its mishandling of the incident.

A trial date for Sullivan has not yet been sent.

Read more details here.

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Dark Reading Staff

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