One Year Later, Uber Comes Clean On Hack Affecting 57 Million People

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Hackers hit Uber, exposing the critical information of 57 million people who use the popular ride-share service.

The massive breach took place in 2016, and the ride-sharing company tried to cover it up for more than a year, paying the hackers to delete the stolen data.

"Nobody likes the idea of having their personal information out there, and being possibly used against them," said Uber driver Mike Daly.

He was waiting to pick up travelers at the Sacramento International Airport Tuesday night and had no idea his personal information may have been at risk.

"The fact that they hid it for such a long time that doesn't seem like good business to me," said Daly.

A pair of hackers discovered the archive of 57 million Uber riders and drivers and stole names, email addresses, phone numbers as well as driver's license numbers of 600,000 Uber drivers.

"I use Uber all the time; it's a shame we can't trust these companies," said one rider.

Instead of reporting the incident, Uber agreed to pay the two hackers $100,000 to delete the data and keep the breach quiet.

Travelers making their way to Sacramento Tuesday night and using Uber to get home to family learned the bad news.

"People who use anybody's product, wants to have full disclosure," said Lisa Martin who flew into Sacramento to visit family for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Uber fired its chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, this week for the data breach coverup.

In a statement, the company's new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said they "have not seen any indication that trip location history, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers or dates of birth were downloaded."

Khosrawshahi adds, "while I can't erase the past, I can commit on behalf of every uber employee that we will learn from our mistakes."

It's the latest blow to Uber, at a time when the rideshare company is trying to improve its public image.

"They've stopped it, they took care it, I'm still gonna drive," said Uber driver Bobby Bennett.

"I'm just used to these breaches all the time; unfortunately it's a common occurrence," said traveler Ryan Eytcheson who was jumping in his Uber after flying in from Los Angeles.

Uber says they are individually notifying the drivers whose driver's license numbers were downloaded and providing those drivers with free credit monitoring and identity theft protection.

"We are changing the way we do business, putting integrity at the core of every decision we make and working hard to earn the trust of our customers," said Khosrowshahi.