Uber Hack – Ride-hailing Giant Investigating Large-Scale Data Breach

Uber Inc. is investigating a cybersecurity incident where a hacker claimed to have breached its internal network and took down multiple engineering and communications systems. Initially discussed on social media the incident affected Uber’s internal Slack messaging, which was shut down after a cybersecurity breach and compromised the company’s data.

What Happened?

Reportedly, on Thursday, Uber employees received a Slack message from someone claiming to be a hacker. The attacker also urged that the company increase its drivers’ pay.

“I announce I am a hacker and Uber has suffered a data breach,” the message read.

For your information, Uber uses Slack for its internal communications system.

After accessing one of the company’s staff member’s Slack accounts, the hacker could compromise Uber’s internal databases, after which they posted an explicit photo on the company’s internal information page for its employees after getting control of its internal systems.

The breach was discovered shortly after, and resultantly, Uber’s IT security team took most of its internal engineering and communications systems offline. An investigation into the incident was also promptly launched.

We are currently responding to a cybersecurity incident. We are in touch with law enforcement and will post additional updates here as they become available.

Uber

We are currently responding to a cybersecurity incident. We are in touch with law enforcement and will post additional updates here as they become available.

— Uber Comms (@Uber_Comms) September 16, 2022

Data Breach Details

The unknown hacker claims to have stolen Uber’s exclusive data and shared images of cloud storage, email, and code repositories with cybersecurity experts. As per Yuga Labs security engineer Sam Curry, the hacker seems to have gained full access to Uber’s internal computer systems and carried out a “total compromise.”

Meanwhile, Uber has instructed its employees to avoid using Slack, whereas its other internal systems are also inaccessible. Curry also shared a message apparently from an Uber employee which unofficially confirms the breach.

From another Uber employee:

Instead of doing anything, a good portion of the staff was interacting and mocking the hacker thinking someone was playing a joke. After being told to stop going on slack, people kept going on for the jokes. lmao

— Sam Curry (@samwcyo) September 16, 2022

According to malware analysis platform vx-underground on Twitter, additional screenshots leaked by the threat actor show they allegedly have access to Uber’s AWS instance, vSphere, Google workplace, HackerOne administration panel, and several other platforms used by the San Francisco, California-based ride-hailing giant.

More screenshots are available on vx-underground’s on Twitter.

According to security researcher Marcus Hutchins on Twitter, “the Uber hack looks really bad.” However, on TikTok, Marcus posted an updated revealing that the hacker is actually an 18-year-old kid with no connection to any group. However, at the time of writing, it was unclear who the hacker actually is, how old are they and what are their actual motives.

According to The New York Times, the hacker used social engineering tactics to infiltrate Uber’s communications system. He sent a text message to a worker at Uber claiming to be a corporate information technology personnel and persuaded the employee to hand over their Slack password.

Afterward, accessing Uber’s systems was pretty easy. The hacker claims that he is eighteen years old and was able to breach the ride-hailing company’s systems because of weak security.

Uber chief information security officer Latha Maripuri confirmed that there’s no specific estimate of when its services will be fully restored.

Stay tuned, this article will be updated with more information.

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I am a UK-based cybersecurity journalist with a passion for covering the latest happenings in cyber security and tech world. I am also into gaming, reading and investigative journalism