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Uber Paid Hackers to Delete Stolen Data on 57M People

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Re: Uber Paid Hackers to Delete Stolen Data on 57M People

#221
post #124
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recall a story (that I'll probably recount incorrectly) about a daycare business deciding that too many parents were arriving late to pick up their children (meaning that staff had to stay late with the kids), so they instituted a fine for late pickups. The result was that more parents were late. The reason being that the parents effectively considered the fine a "late pickup fee", and one they were more than willi…

And the fine should always be bigger than whatever the company pocketed from the "crime" during that time. I think it was AT&T or Verizon that got fined the "record" $3 million by the FTC for tracking users' browsing behaviors for like 2 or 3 years. The FTC should have asked (subpoena I should say) the company for reports on how much money it made per user from that tracking for the whole period, and then charge it a…

How does the EU calculate fines? And is there a reason we can’t just copy that?

Re: Uber Paid Hackers to Delete Stolen Data on 57M People

#222
post #158
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recall a story (that I'll probably recount incorrectly) about a daycare business deciding that too many parents were arriving late to pick up their children (meaning that staff had to stay late with the kids), so they instituted a fine for late pickups. The result was that more parents were late. The reason being that the parents effectively considered the fine a "late pickup fee", and one they were more than willi…

The way you fix this is by making each 5m late cost 2 gallon of milk. If you are late for 15m that's 6 gallons of milk, an operational burden has been passed to the late parent. It's embarrassing to bring in 6 gallons of milk, an inconvenience to buy and deliver it, and an effective deterrent.

I think what you'd find is that people would just start using a different service which didn't treat them like children.

Re: Uber Paid Hackers to Delete Stolen Data on 57M People

#223
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recall a story (that I'll probably recount incorrectly) about a daycare business deciding that too many parents were arriving late to pick up their children (meaning that staff had to stay late with the kids), so they instituted a fine for late pickups. The result was that more parents were late. The reason being that the parents effectively considered the fine a "late pickup fee", and one they were more than willi…

Well, day care operators have since learned... ... as I sit in my home office, just over an hour away from day care closing time I assure you I'm watching the clock like a hungry hawk watching a mouse. See, my kid's day care charges a mere $600 per hour late (billed in 1 minute increments). I don't see kids parents late that often :-) and we've come close to missing it, but haven't in two years.

> See, my kid's day care charges a mere $600 per hour late (billed in 1 minute increments).

WOW, I'm in the wrong business I think. What else charges that much per hour? I don't even think a neurosurgeon could command that sort of rate!

Re: Uber Paid Hackers to Delete Stolen Data on 57M People

#224
post #180
post #174

Why was this only worth 100K? How did they verify info was deleted? And how does this show up on an expense report at the end of the year?

Security Penetration Testing

What would be the tax implications of this in USA? I imagine there isn't a bill given by another entity, but this is rather a bitcoin/cash transaction. In my country this would mean this payout would be hit with all the taxes [1], pretty much doubling the cost.

--

[1] Income tax, unemployment insurance, healthcare, and maybe even pension. All going to the benefit of the country as there is no identifiable human on the receiving end.

Re: Uber Paid Hackers to Delete Stolen Data on 57M People

#225

> Here’s how the hack went down: Two attackers accessed a private GitHub coding site used by Uber software engineers and then used login credentials they obtained there to access data stored on an Amazon Web Services account that handled computing tasks for the company. From there, the hackers discovered an archive of rider and driver information. Later, they emailed Uber asking for money, according to the company. D…

[deleted]

Re: Uber Paid Hackers to Delete Stolen Data on 57M People

#226
post #222
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way you fix this is by making each 5m late cost 2 gallon of milk. If you are late for 15m that's 6 gallons of milk, an operational burden has been passed to the late parent. It's embarrassing to bring in 6 gallons of milk, an inconvenience to buy and deliver it, and an effective deterrent.

I think what you'd find is that people would just start using a different service which didn't treat them like children.

If they are chronically late, and the person feels like they are being slighted as a child, this is also a decent way to "fire" your customer. You don't need customers who don't respect the agreed rules of your service.

Another alternative is calling the police, because at what point is the child considered abandoned?

I think I would prefer the light hearted milk or toilet paper errand.

Re: Uber Paid Hackers to Delete Stolen Data on 57M People

#227
post #169
post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC you can't remove all payment methods from the app, so just deleting the app will leave your credit card information in their hands. Also all your previous ride data will still be on their servers. Both of these things could be lost in a data breach, and presumably account deletion deletes this data.

Deleting your account at Uber doesn't delete ride info[0] In a lot of cases companies still leave behind an email stub to prevent users signing up over and over again for signup deals The only way to ensure your data is safe is to never hand it over in the first place - signup with a fake name, prepaid card, etc. [0] https://help.uber.com/h/24010fe7-7a67-4ee5-9938-c734000b144a

I didn't see any mention of ride info in that link, maybe the text has changed since you posted it.

It is frustrating that the page doesn't enumerate what information is deleted and what's retained.

Re: Uber Paid Hackers to Delete Stolen Data on 57M People

#229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? Uber acted in an unethical manner? Seriously, is anyone surprised? I kinda hope (but not really) that they get hacked again in June 2018 and play the same trick.. us in the EU will have a party on Uber's corpse over GDPR.

And then we can go back to getting ripped off by taxis. I’ve lost more money in taxi rip offs than I ever spent on Uber. Other than the sexist nonsense of the CEO, there really is an irrational hatred of Uber. Are many of us secretly moonlighting as cab drivers? Uber’s nonsense is minuscule compared to generations of taxi corruption. This isn’t me excusing Uber but it does seem like many people, especially Europeans…

Most European cities I've been in have way better public transportation than any US city, which makes Uber a much less valuable proposition. On top of that, taxis tend to be more professional, so even as a high-end option uber is less compelling.
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