Former Uber Executive Charged With Paying 'Hush Money' To Conceal Massive Breach
Source: NPR
Federal prosecutors have charged Uber's former chief security officer with covering up a massive 2016 data breach by arranging a $100,000 payoff to the hackers responsible for the attack. The personal data of 57 million Uber passengers and drivers was stolen in the hack.
Prosecutors are charging the former executive Joe Sullivan with obstructing justice and concealing a felony for the alleged cover-up. Sullivan "engaged in a scheme to withhold and conceal" the breach from regulators and failed to report it to law enforcement or the public, according to a complaint filed in federal court in California on Thursday.
"Sullivan is being charged with a corporate cover-up and Sullivan is being charged with the payment of hush money to conceal something that should have been revealed," David Anderson, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, told NPR.
A spokesperson for Sullivan sent a statement saying there was no merit to the charges and that he was part of larger team that worked on security. "If not for Mr. Sullivan's and his team's efforts, it's likely that the individuals responsible for this incident never would have been identified at all," he said. The spokesperson said Uber's legal team, rather than Sullivan, was responsible for deciding whether and to whom the matter should be disclosed.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/20/904113981/former-uber-executive-charged-with-paying-hush-money-to-conceal-massive-breach
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