U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), John Thune (R-SD), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) are seeking answers from Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi regarding recent reports of a data breach involving the personal information of 57 million customers, including names, email addresses, and mobile phone numbers. Uber failed to disclose the breach promptly.
“The company maintains that its outside forensic experts have not seen any indication that customer trip location history, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, or dates of birth were downloaded. Nevertheless, the nature of the information currently acknowledged to have been compromised, together with the allegation that the company concealed the breach without notifying affected drivers and consumers, and prior privacy concerns at Uber, makes this a serious incident that merits further scrutiny,” states the senators’ letter to Uber.
Cassidy is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy, which has jurisdiction over the protection of social security numbers and programs that are often targeted by identity thieves.