American ridesharing company Uber Technologies agreed to a $148 million settlement for the 2016 breach of customer and driver data and its subsequent cover-up, the office of the Attorney General of California announced on Wednesday. Uber was accused of failing to secure the data of 57 million of its application users and subsequently paying hackers to hide information of the breach. Users' private information, among them driver's licenses and phone numbers, were acquired by the hackers.
"Uber’s decision to cover up this breach was a blatant violation of the public’s trust," said Attorney General Xavier Becerra, adding that the settlement should serve as a warning companies will be held accountable for the protection of user data.
"We wholeheartedly support innovative business models, but new ways of engaging in business cannot come at the expense of public safety or consumer privacy," San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon added.
