Uber denies that its internal systems have been compromised, although the business does admit that it is looking into a “cybersecurity incident.” The suspected hacker, who claims to be 18 years old, claims to have administrator access to corporate technologies including Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services. According to the
New York Times, the ride-hailing company has shut down a number of internal services, including Slack, as it looks into the security hole.
The corporation declined to comment more when reached by The Verge for a remark, pointing instead to their Twitter statement.
The cybersecurity incident to which we are now reacting. We are in contact with law enforcement, and we’ll share more information as it becomes available here, according to the statement.
By leaving a message on Uber’s internal Slack platform, the hacker appeared to have let the company’s staff know who they were. Screenshots of the statement that were being shared on Twitter stated, “I proclaim I am a hacker and Uber has experienced a data breach.” The alleged hacker then posted a hashtag alleging that Uber underpays its drivers and highlighted private company information they claimed to have accessed.
According to the Washington Post, many Uber employees first appeared to have thought the alleged hacker’s Slack post was a prank due to how bold it was.
Lighthearted emoticons like sirens and popcorn, as well as the “it’s happening” GIF, were among the responses from employees to the post. Sam Curry, a security engineer at Yuga Labs, was told by an anonymous Uber employee that employees were talking with the hacker under the impression that they were making a joke.
According to The Post, one employee’s answer was, “Sorry to be a stick in the mud, but I think IT would enjoy less memes while they tackle the incident.”
The hacker informed The Post that they broke into Uber for fun and that they were considering disclosing the company’s source code. The hacker claimed to be 18 years old to the NYT.
They also asserted in a meeting with cybersecurity expert Corben Leo that they were able to access an internal business VPN by using login information obtained from an employee using social engineering to access Uber’s systems. From there, they discovered PowerShell scripts with access management credentials on Uber’s intranet, which allegedly allowed them to hack into the company’s AWS and G Suite accounts.
According to what it appears, this is a complete compromise, Curry told the NYT. It appears that they could be this young person who just joined Uber, is unsure of what to do with it, and is enjoying the time of his life.