Ride-hailing platform Uber on Friday said it has been hit by a cyber attack and is probing the data breach incident with law enforcement officials. According to reports, some of Uber's internal systems were hacked in the data breach and some screenshots on Twitter suggested the hacker got access to the company's internal data.
"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 posted in a tweet.
The New York Times first reported about the Uber breach. An Uber employee posted that they were told to stop using Slack and "anytime I request a website, I am taken to a page with a pornographic image" and the message "f*** you wankers".
Another Twitter user posted a screenshot apparently from the hacker, which said: "I announce I am a hacker and Uber has suffered a data breach. Slack has been stolen..." The hacker reportedly said he broke into the Uber systems because "they had weak security".
"Someone hacked an Uber employee's HackerOne account and is commenting on all of the tickets. They likely have access to all of the Uber HackerOne reports," a bug bounty hunter by the name of Sam Curry posted.
Meanwhile, the cab aggregator is now allowing riders to book a cab via WhatsApp.
It started rolling out in Delhi-NCR in August, and the new feature will save passengers the trouble of downloading the Uber app, registering first, and then being able to book a cab, auto, or bike.
Uber had said that it recognises that to keep expanding its services, the platform needs to meet users where they are. “In India, that means WhatsApp,” Uber said in a press release. “Starting this week, we are rolling out an exciting new service that gives people of Delhi NCR the option to book an Uber ride via our official chatbot on WhatsApp,” the company said.