Washington state sues Uber over data breach
It says Uber violated data breach notification law.
The lawsuits are continuing to pile on top of Uber after it revealed that it covered up a hack in fall 2016. Washington state's Attorney General has sued Uber for allegedly violating its local data breach notification law. Companies are supposed to notify the AG within 45 days if a breach affects 500 or more Washington residents, but that clearly didn't happen when Uber paid hackers to keep quiet. The state is demanding penalties of up to $2,000 for each person whose data was exposed, which should lead to a penalty in the "millions of dollars."
We've asked Uber if it can comment on the lawsuit.
The suit is only going to add to Uber's many headaches as of late, but it was likely expecting this kind of response. The very point of the disclosure was to come clean and make amends for the ridesharing outfit's actions during Kalanick's leadership era, when the company all too frequently skirted the law. It may pay a stiff penalty now, but it may reap rewards in the long run if it regains trust and avoids future legal battles.
