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Uber breach compromised data of 50,000 drivers

By Danielle Haynes

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The personal data of 50,000 Uber drivers may be in the hands of an unauthorized third party after a breach of the company's database last year.

Uber announced Friday that the names and driver's license numbers of the drivers were contained in the database that was accessed May 13, a news release from Uber's managing counsel of data privacy, Katherine Tassi, said. The company discovered the database had been accessed Sept. 17.

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The company said it filed a lawsuit to help it identify the third party and prosecute them.

"Uber takes seriously our responsibility to safeguard personal information, and we are sorry for any inconvenience this incident may cause," the news release said.

Uber has not received any reports from its drivers that their personal information was used as a result of the data breach. To aid those drivers in monitoring their credit reports, Uber is providing them with free identity protection for one year.

Cybersecurity expert for risk mitigation firm Kroll, Timothy Ryan, told the Los Angeles Times the information accessed in the data breach may not be enough for identity theft. If the names and driver's licenses, along with, say, a credit card number or date of birth had been taken, there could have been more dire results.

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