Uber's Data Breach Cover-Up

Uber Technologies Inc. is a transportation company within a mobile application that has revolutionized the way that people travel in different countries and cities all around

Anthem is a medical insurance provider that currently serves over 74 million people. On December 10, 2014, Anthem was victim to a data breach that resulted in over 37 million personal records being hacked from their servers. Fortunately, the attack was contained to only one day, but it was still enough to become one of the largest data breaches in corporate history. Shockingly, the hack wasn’t actually discovered until January 27, 2015. What lead to the discovery was when a data administrator discovered a query that was started using his own credentials (Ragan). Just over a week later - on February 4th - Anthem announced that there had been a massive data breach to the public. The breach was so severe, that even Anthem’s own CEO, Joseph Swedish, said that his personal information along with several other Anthem associates were taken during the breach.

Aside from the Playstation Outage, there had been larger and more nefarious data breaches in history that exploited weaknesses in internet, server, and network security. One such breach is when Heartland Payment Systems had, what was called, the most massive credit card security breach in history, with hackers embedding deep into Heartland security and recording card data. According to Bloomberg Business, it was estimated that “as many as 100 million cards issued by more than 650 financial services companies may have been compromised”. The attack cost Heartland $12.6 million, which was orchestrated by a man named Albert Gonzalez, who was also the cause for several other data breaches, each costing from thousands to millions of dollars. Another such attack was when Russian, and a Ukrainian, computer hackers assaulted NASDAQ stock exchange servers and stealing “more than 160 million credit and debit card numbers, target more than 800,000 bank accounts” (NY Daily News). Separate hacking operation spanned over seven years, attacking NASDAQ, but also affected “chains like 7-Eleven”. All the operations, in the period of time and the global scale it spanned, resulted “in at least $300 million in losses to companies and individuals”. One of the latest, and possibly the largest, data breaches of 2015, Anthem, the second largest health insurer in the US was hacked, compromising millions of account and personal data, as well as social security. When Anthem discovered that they had been

A recent increase in large scale data breaches has exposed a multitude of cybersecurity vulnerabilities that pose a definite risk to consumers (Lorio, 2017). In some cases, a data breach can distress an establishment so much that other organizations experience a backlash from the repercussions (Kosseff, 2011). The Equifax data breach of 2017 is a perfect example of this kind of event as it caused an overwhelming economic repercussion that affected other major corporations and more than 143 million credit card customers worldwide (Janakiraman, Lin, & Rishika, 2018).

A recent increase in large scale data breaches has exposed a multitude of cybersecurity vulnerabilities that pose a definite risk to consumers (Lorio, 2017). In some cases, a data breach can distress an establishment so much that other organizations experience a backlash from the repercussions (Kosseff, 2011). The Equifax data breach of 2017 is a perfect example of this kind of event as it caused an overwhelming economic repercussion that affected other major corporations and more than 143 million credit card customers worldwide (Janakiraman, Lin, & Rishika, 2018).

We are at the forefront of an information revolution. Firms are increasingly relying on data to drive strategic and business decisions. Upstart companies are giving market leaders a run for their money by tapping into advanced data analytics, statistical modeling and open source software. Multi-billion dollar companies like Uber and Airbnb have shown a groundbreaking data-driven way to connect its products & services to their customers. We are living in a world where every customer touch point with a digital device is being recorded and monetized. Every business has to reinvent, transform, and adapt its products and services to meet the demand of its digital savvy customers or face the risk of becoming obsolete.

Employment received a hard hit by the recession, but this “gig economy” has been able to provide job openings that are in need. According to a recent study, jobs in the gig economy has grown from 9 to 14% from 2002 to 2014, compared to overall employment which only grew around 7%. Moreover, the gig economy has also had an impact in the current economy, specifically coming from the famous startups such as Uber and Lyft. The Uber and

Uber has widely known for its lower transaction costs which is resulted from efficiency in operation cost, or in other word low labor cost. Uber drivers is not the company’s employees but independent contractor. Therefore, Uber has been criticized for their treatment to the individuals who provide the service under their smartphone applications and take benefits from them (Dyal-Chand, 2015). Average hourly wages for drivers is around USD8 – 10, exclude their car depreciation (Weber and Silverman, 2015). Therefore, Uber transfers part of operation cost such as vehicle depreciation cost and employee benefits to the drivers as its independent contractor. In her note, Posen comprehensively describes and analyzes the lawsuits from taxi industry and states where it operate. Unfortunately, she only provide a glimpse about the lawsuits from Uber’s drivers without any solution to be

In late 2013, news headlines and social media outlets were reeling with the news that Target encountered a cyber-attack that breached the credit card accounts of millions of customers who shopped within the brick and mortar stores during the holiday shopping season. Hackers not only gained access to credit cards numbers, but also other personal data such as email addresses and names (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p.38). The Target case study explores the dilemma that Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel faced with how to rebound from the very damaging breach. Against the advance of top advisors to Mr. Steinhafel opted for full disclosure to the public. Though a very risky choice, Mr. Steinhafel made a very appropriate decision from a business perspective,

Uber. To many, it is the preferred mode of transportation for a sporting event or concert when traffic is mayhem. To others, it’s a convenient and fast way to step up in da club and get your jiggy on. I have used Uber a couple of time in the states and for the most part, the rides were smooth, comfortable, and direct. As I was embarking on my study abroad journey in Puebla, Mexico, my group was advised to use Uber as it is securer than taxis in Mexico. The first week using Uber was lit. Short time waits and swift pick-ups, no confusion with locations, drivers with good music taste and complimentary water and candy. Drivers would even open the car doors for us, classy af [or you can put “such high class

The thesis of this article explains that despite surge pricing achieving the goal that it’s supposed to, (bring more drivers online and present available services to consumers who need them the most) most believe Uber is taking advantage of customers by using extreme multiplier prices. While the author states that this issue between price and product/service is giving Uber a relative degree of bad press, he also gives solutions as to how to fix this problem.

In modern society’s day and age, we still have many types of transportations that helps us complete some of our daily needs. You can drive, grab a bus, take a train or even get a quick workout and walk. However, as society progressed and wages increased, people start spending money on other ways to get around instead of driving themselves such as Uber: an app that allows other people to drive you places for a small fee depending on its location. Uber may be cheaper than having your own car but it isn’t always very reliable or convenient. Having your own car provides a reliable source of transportation. Although insurance and maintenance can be pricey; Uber is a relatively cheap and easy system of transportation, although it can be unreliable.

Uber; the San Francisco based innovative and popular ride booking service platform provider which matches riders to nearby Uber drivers for transport was hacked and approximately 50,000 Uber drivers’ private information was affected by this data breach. This paper will examine Uber’s security policy and culture, leading to the breach, also the motivation,

The use of ride-sharing applications has become a popular choice to travel from one destination to another. In the past, cities were dominated by the use of taxis as a means of ride choice. As technology and society has evolved, ride-share applications such as Lyft have become a dominating choice for travel. After completing a PEST and SWOT analysis, Lyft can analyze how to proceed going forward to continue its growth and success.

When O'Connor vs. Uber Technologies (Uber) is analyzed through the lens of ethical egoism substantial clarity can be found. If the defendant Uber is treated as a single entity, it is trivial to deduce that treating the drivers as contractors rather than employees falls heavily into the self-interest of Uber. Proponents of social egoism argue that innovative entities, such as Uber, must act solely in their self-interest in order to survive in the capitalistic society in which we live. Without acting in one’s self-interest, it is probable to believe that any corporation that deviates from their interest would fail to survive, being out preformed by its competition. This constant vigil for competition, in terms of social egoism, improves society