ANALYSIS: There are several reasons Uber has little to fear from class actions over data breach
Ironically, its cover-up could help its cause in lawsuits by riders and drivers — but potential government action is a bigger risk for the company, legal experts say
New York — The inevitable class action suits have followed hard on the heels of Uber’s revelation this week that in late 2016 it paid hackers to cover up a massive data breach. On Tuesday, new Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi disclosed that in late 2016, hackers got hold of personal data belonging to 57-million Uber drivers and riders. Uber did not report the incident to riders or drivers when it occurred, Khosrowshahi said. As Reuters reported on Wednesday, the company at the time paid the hackers $100,000 in exchange for their assurances that the stolen data would be destroyed. "None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it," Khosrowshahi said in his blog post about the breach. Those are the sort of words that set class action plaintiffs’ lawyers’ hearts racing. Predictably, within hours of Uber’s announcement, it was hit with a class action claiming its drivers and passengers are at risk of fraud and identity theft as a result of the company’s negligence. The su...
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