Uber was hit by a cyberattack earlier this week. The hack was discovered on Thursday and forced several internal systems to go offline, including Slack, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform.
The hacker claims he was 18 years old when he managed to gain administrative access to the company’s internal tools. Uber is still investigating how this young man was able to do this. The internal tools were taken offline as a precaution and have been online again since yesterday. Uber was quick to clarify that private user account data, such as ride history and login credentials, have not been compromised. The company also announced that all services including Uber, Uber Eats, Uber Freight, and Uber Driver apps are fully operational. The ride-hailing giant also notified law enforcement.
— Uber Comms (@Uber_Comms) September 16, 2022
The hacker revealed himself to an Uber employee via his Slack system inside the company with a message that read, “I am the hacker and Uber has suffered a data breach.” . He proved his case by sharing confidential company information and posting hashtags that show Uber underpaying drivers. The suspected hacker told the New York Times that he received a password from an Uber employee that allowed him access to internal systems. He tricked employees by pretending to be an IT person at the company, a technique called social engineering.
A security expert said the hack was a complete compromise of Uber’s systems, but the company has not advised users to change passwords or other login credentials. This isn’t the first time Uber has been compromised as part of a cyber attack. The company said he suffered a major breach in 2016 that compromised sensitive information of millions of customers and drivers.
