What the Uber Breach Means to Suffolk Businesses

On Thursday 15^th of September 2022, Uber’s – worldwide transport and food delivery service provider – internal systems were hacked, resulting in a catastrophic Uber data breach.

Allegedly an 18-year-old hacker was identified as entering the database through a text message sent by the hacker to one of Uber’s contractors. Social engineering took place as the hacker posed as an IT individual and claimed they needed login credentials to work on the internal systems. Whilst Uber have announced that the contractor received various two-factor login approval requests, eventually one was accepted which resulted in the hacker successfully logging in.

The implications of this hacker gaining access into internal systems of a company who store as much personal data as Uber can be fatal. Ipswich based IT Support company Corbel Solutions are devoted to ensuring that issues like these can be prevented within your business in Suffolk.

What did the hacker do in the Uber Breach?

After gaining access into the initial account, the hacker was able to access various other accounts which provided them with elevated permissions including Slack – the company’s internal messaging service. Whilst on September 19th Uber announced there is no evidence of sensitive user data exposure, many reporters have outlined that the hacker had access to “almost everything” and so there is some uncertainty around what exact data was accessed.

The hacker was then announced to have sent out a message on Slack to employees, pronouncing themselves as the 18-year-old hacker who had completed a data breach. They wrote they had hacked into the systems due to Uber having weak security, they posted an explicit image on the platform and utilised a hashtag which expressed that Uber drivers are not paid enough.

Many have found it to be particularly concerning that the hacker is only 18 years old and has sufficient skills to hack into a worldwide company. With a net-worth of approximately $62.35B, they are a company who we would expect to have an extremely large cyber security budget.

Ubers response to the breach

Uber took a series of steps to identify and respond to the breach in the best way possible. From identifying which employee accounts had been compromised and doing a password test on them, to locking down their codebase to prevent any new code changes – it was important for Uber to react in an effective way due to the severity of the breach.

It’s unavoidable that cyber security attacks are happening more and more, however the best thing a business can do is make sure they have the correct defences in place to prevent any attacks from occurring.

The importance of cyber training

Something as simple as a phishing text message caused a huge data breach and this could have been prevented through ensuring staff receive sufficient cyber training.  

Whilst it is important to invest in high quality training for staff working directly in cyber and IT – it is equally as important to ensure all staff understand what it is they can do to prevent any cyber-attacks from occurring and protect their business. Ubers situation should have highlighted that anyone can be the victim of a cyber-attack. All businesses in Suffolk should have a priority to ensure their staff know how to spot a potential cyber-attack and then how to respond to it correctly with the correct training procedures being put in place.

What does the Uber breach mean for Uber now?

The future for Uber is now up in the air considering they have unanswered questions about exactly how much data compromised. Uber now need to undertake extensive research to understand this fully.

Whilst some of us may be under the impression that cyber attacks just cost the potential ransomware cost – it can be so much more than this. With the collective exposure costs and various types of fines – there are a number of large costs involved that the company would have to financially recover from.

Uber will also need to take into consideration how their customers will be feeling subsequent to this breach. Many of us have been loyal customers to the transport service and food delivery provider for many years. Now, with the concern that personal data may have been accessed by the hacker, it is likely to cause some significant trust issues. Uber may have to invest time and money into regaining the trust of their consumers to protect their reputation.

Is cyber training implemented in your business?

Ipswich based IT support company Corbel Solutions provide businesses across Suffolk with sufficient cyber training to ensure their employees are fully educated on how to keep their business protected from cyber threats and security breaches.

With 99% of cyber-attacks requiring user intervention, your team need to keep informed and educated on the latest threats and educate them on what they can do to help keep your business protected. Corbel can implement this individually or alongside other available cyber security services including penetration testing and dark web monitoring – which can help to maximise protection.

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Ipswich based Corbel Solutions limited work as a proactive IT Support partner across Ipswich, Felixstowe, Stowmarket, and the surrounding Suffolk area offering services in Office 365 support, Disaster Recovery and Cloud Services. If you are looking for a new IT support partner then take a look at our IT service buyers guide.