Richard Blumenthal Attacks Uber For Hacking Breach And Cover-Up

Sen. Richard Blumenthal Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman November 23, 2017

Calling the move “inexplicable,” Connecticut Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal lashed out at ride sharing giant Uber’s decision to pay off hackers who breached its computer system.

Uber revealed Wednesday that it payed two hackers $100,000 to cover up a massive computer breach in which they obtained personal information of 50 million riders and 7 million drivers.

Blumenthal, known for his tough approach to companies failing to protect consumer data, tweeted a call for the Federal Trade Commission to “take swift enforcement action and impose significant penalties in response to Uber breach.” He also decried Uber’s “appalling contempt” to the privacy of its drivers and clients and said the company should provide its consumers with free credit monitoring and identity theft insurance.

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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