Uber warns cyber attacks could cripple its business
- Uber has filed to public.
- In its prospectus made public for the first time Thursday, the company warned cyber attacks could affect its future business.
- In 2017, the company disclosed a major cyberattack that compromised 57 million users.
Uber has officially filed to go public.
The ride-hailing giant made its paperwork public for the first time on Thursday, providing us the first comprehensive look under the hood at the company's financials, risk factors and more.
Among those risk factors was a stern warning about how important technology - and the security of that technology - is for Uber.
"We rely heavily on information technology systems across our operations," the company said in the filing. "Computer malware, viruses, spamming, and phishing attacks have become more prevalent in our industry, have occurred on our systems in the past, and may occur on our systems in the future," the company continued.
In 2017, for example, Uber paid hackers $100,00 to cover up a 2016 cyber attack that exposed the personal data of 57 million people, including both riders and drivers. Among the info stolen was a trove of data including the names, emails, and phone numbers for 50 million riders globally, as well as the personal information of 7 million drivers. This included US driver's license numbers, but no Social Security numbers, according to Uber.
"None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a blog post at the time. "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."
Read Business Insider's full coverage of Uber's IPO here.
Here's the full disclosure from Uber's S-1: