Former Uber Security Chief Charged With Covering Up Massive 2016 Hacking

Former Uber Security Chief Charged With Covering Up Massive 2016 Hacking
Uber's logo is pictured at its office in Bogota, Colombia, Dec. 12, 2019. Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters
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WASHINGTON—In an unprecedented case, a former chief security officer for Uber Technologies was criminally charged on Thursday with trying to cover up a 2016 hacking that exposed personal information of about 57 million of the ride-hailing company’s customers and drivers.

The U.S. Department of Justice charged Joseph Sullivan, 52, with felony obstruction of justice, saying he took “deliberate steps” to keep the Federal Trade Commission from learning about the hack while the agency was monitoring Uber security in the wake of an earlier breach.