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Uber Defends Privacy Practices After Allegations It Spies On Riders (cnbc.com)
Uber is defending the scope of its privacy practices after a wide-ranging report alleged employees were tracking individual riders. From a CNBC report: "We have hundreds of security and privacy experts working around the clock to protect our data," Uber told "Reveal" in a statement. Additionally, Uber told CNBC that it is continuing to increase its security investments. The company pointed to workers that needed data for their roles, such as anti-fraud experts, or employees that validate driver insurance documents or investigate traffic incidents. "It's absolutely untrue that 'all' or 'nearly all' employees have access to customer data, with or without approval," Uber said. "We have built [an] entire system to implement technical and administrative controls to limit access to customer data to employees who require it to perform their jobs. This could include multiple steps of approval -- by managers and the legal team -- to ensure there is a legitimate business case for providing access." According to legal documents filed by ex-employee Ward Spangenberg in October and reported by The Center for Investigative Reporting on Monday, "Uber's lack of security regarding its customer data was resulting in Uber employees being able to track high profile politicians, celebrities, and even personal acquaintances of Uber employees, including ex-boyfriends/girlfriends, and ex-spouses."
This could enable someone to easily kidnap or assisnate VIP people. I'd think twice about using Uber if I were a person with a lot of money or power.
I built a shed once. It fell down.
Key point: building X and building X right are not the same thing.
I don't place much faith in "could".
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Trust these idiots as far as you can throw them.
In a sense, this is almost surprising: not because any sane person would expect Uber management to not be a bunch of shitbags; but because companies that take spying on their customers seriously tend to realize that the data they are gathering has value; and jealously guard it from people who aren't paying them for access.
It is...immature...of Uber to be wasting their time on stalker-bro antics when they could be using this sort of pervasive location data collection for all sorts of creepy ad-targeting and consumer profiling stuff, like respectable professionals.
"hundreds of security and privacy experts"
Is it me, or does anyone else have difficulty believing that statement. I work for an F500 doing financial transactions and running the backend for home security companies worldwide... And I don't think we have "hundreds of security and privacy experts".
Uber is one of the scummiest Silicon Valley companies to arise in a long time. Anyone who chooses to use their services gets what they deserve.
seems to me that this is another one of those business practices that would be totally against the law if it were done in an analog world, if a representative of a car service followed you documenting your every location to "help be sure to give you better service when you want a ride" everyone would call BS and they would be out of business or at least severely hampered. Because they do this "on a computer" its somehow just fine and makes them a darling for the VC/Stock market...sick...
This company will face a full audit and investigation when I take office. President-elect of the United States
invades our privacy like this. This is why, for example, we need more government control of healthcare.
"We have hundreds of security and privacy experts working around the clock to protect our data,"
That won't stop court orders initiated by shady divorce lawyers or law enforcement fishing expeditions.
I would feel much safer if Uber didn't have the information in the first place. Despite their damage control spin, they have no legitimate need for it.
do their jerbs
Since when did uber get larger than Microsoft?
"It's absolutely untrue that 'all' or 'nearly all' employees have access to customer data, with or without approval,"
Is it: almost all?
We don't want YOU, to have it, genius.
Don't know if there is a connection here but: It states that if I use an app like Uber, the passengers will not be covered during an accident.
And when those shitbags are spying on Trump enemies (most of which were his former friends and business partners), will anyone be surprised?
As long as they get away with selling the data, the customer could be anyone, Putin, foreign governments, TrumpSS, China via a front company of intermiediary maybe, but as long as its for sale, it will be sold to foreign governments.
Take a look at the election manipulation tools, the ones that let you draw up a district for gerrymandering. Those tools are all available to foreign governments too.