Uber admits that 815,000 Canadians are affected by the data breach

Uber has admitted that more than 815,000 of their Canadian customers have had their data compromised by the data breach which Uber is accused of having tried to cover up.

Customer information that was exposed in the data breach includes the names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers of customers. It is not known if credit card orother payment information. The data breach saw the theft of information from some 57 million Uber accounts globally in October 2016. Uber reportedly paid off the hackers $100,000 to delete the data and keep the breach hidden from the public.

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Uber covered up 2016 hack that exposed personal data of 57 million users

Uber has covered up a massive 2016 hack to its system that compromised the personal data of over 57 million users and drivers globally. The ride-hailing service declined to notify affected users and instead paid hackers $100,000 to hush up the hack and delete the data. This is the latest in a string of shady practices from Uber.Bloomberg reported that fired Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was aware of the hack as early as November 2016, just a month after it occurred. Uber Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan, and a key senior deputy to the CSO, have also been removed from the company this week, specifically for their roles in keeping the cyberattack secret.

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Ride hailing service Lyft coming to Toronto in time for holidays

Ride hailing service Lyft is coming to Toronto, Canada to compete with Uber. The service announced it plans to be operating in the GTA by the holidays (so, December). This is the first time since Hailo shut down that Torontonians have had a choice in app-driven ride hailing services. Lyft has a better reputation than Uber and is generally better received although many drivers drive for both Uber and Lyft. Beow is a statement from Lyft.

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PepsiCo’s Tony West is now Uber’s chief legal officer

Lonnie Tague/United States Department of Justice

Uber’s newest hire has a lot of work to do. The ride-sharing company just hired Tony West as its new chief legal officer. West has served as PepsiCo’s general counsel and was the former assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice under former President Barack Obama. He comes in at a time when Uber is facing a series of investigations by the US government (including the DOJ) and a major lawsuit with Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit. West replaces Salle Yoo, who has been Uber’s chief legal officer since 2012. He officially becomes the company’s top lawyer next month.

Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced the hire in an email to staff on Friday. He wrote, “As a former federal prosecutor and senior Department of Justice official in the Obama Administration, [West is] well equipped to handle the investigations into our past practices. And at Pepsi, he has emphasized diversity on his team and across the company. But perhaps most importantly, Pepsi has been named one of the world’s most ethical companies 10 years in a row,” he continued. “Under Tony’s leadership, I’m confident that we will one day join this list.”

Source: Recode