Ride-hailing app Uber Technologies is paying out some big bucks to states across the country for a data breach 2 years ago. The breach that took place in 2016 wasn’t reported to effected Uber users until 2017 violating state law.
For millions of people, Uber is the way to go. “I feel more comfortable to be honest with you because of the price and the ease of being able to use a smartphone and do it,” said Allen Love, who uses Uber frequently for work.
For riders like Matthew Padgett the quality of the vehicle and price make a difference. “The ride, the actual vehicle you ride in is better and I actually think it’s a little cheaper than your typical taxi service.”
But in 2016 the ease of an online app was tested when hackers compromised the date of Uber drivers.
Now Uber will pay South Carolina more than $1.2 million for the data breach that wasn’t reported in the time frame required by law.
Attorney General Alan Wilson explained, “They learned that the private information of their drivers had been compromised. they tracked down the hackers and secure the information but they didn’t report until a year later at least here in South Carolina.”
The date breach affects more than 600,000 Uber drivers nationwide and even though it affects drivers, Uber riders are also concerned about their data.
“That’s the problem with the modern era when we put everything on a cloud anyone can have access to it so now it’s a race who can secure it and who can penetrate it,” added Love.
State consumer laws required Uber to report the breach immediately. The data breach wasn’t reported until November 2017, a year after it was identified.
AG Alan Wilson says the money awarded in the settlement will go towards the state’s General Fund, which will then be appropriated to different state functions by South Carolina lawmakers.
There are about 5200 Uber drivers in South Carolina. As part of the settlement, the drivers will receive 1 year of free credit monitoring.