SAN FRANCISCO – Uber said on Tuesday that hackers compromised some 57 million rides and drove vehicles affiliated with the ridesharing company.
“None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it,” said a statement from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who took over in August.
Two Uber drivers who “led the response” that included not telling the officials that they were not actually driving the cabs, and more crucially the fact that someone else was, have been let go from the San Francisco-based company effective Tuesday, according to Khosrowshahi.
The Uber chief said now only 56,999,998 instances remained to be monitored to get the bottom of how exactly the hackers managed to steal so many rides.
Khosrowshahi said he only recently learned that outsiders had broken into cars used by the company and earned a “significant” amount of money.
Meanwhile, Uber paid the hackers $100,000 to return every $50,000 that they had earned, not telling riders or drivers what actually had happened, a source familiar with the situation told The Dependent.
Co-founder and ousted chief Travis Kalanick was advised of the breach shortly after it was discovered, and asked to make sure that he monitors who is driving his cab, and more crucially whose cab he is driving.
