Uber Confirms Hackers Stole Thousands' Driver License Data

Uber has begun notifying thousands of drivers that their personal information and driver’s license details were exposed after hackers breached Fireworks AI, a third-party technology provider with access to some Uber data. The company said it was informed of the intrusion on Oct. 9 by the vendor, after which stolen internal credentials were used to access information tied to affected drivers. The breach notices were filed with several U.S. state attorneys general, including those in California, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Rhode Island and Illinois. The available filings show that 2,567 people in Massachusetts, 3,430 in South Carolina and 1,873 in Rhode Island had driver’s license information compromised. Illinois residents were also affected, though the number was not immediately disclosed, and California drivers were notified without a total figure being provided. Uber has not said how many customers were impacted in total, and the overall number is expected to grow as additional breach notifications are filed. Fireworks AI, which provides developers with access to open artificial intelligence models, had previously reported a security incident in which hackers obtained customer information, including billing data and some private AI datasets. The productivity software company Notion also confirmed that its data was taken in the same incident. Uber referred questions about the vendor breach to Fireworks, while a Fireworks spokesperson did not respond to follow-up inquiries. Fireworks said the attack was carried out by a financially motivated cybercriminal group seeking to sell stolen tokens used to access large language models. No known hacking group has claimed responsibility for the theft. The incident marks Uber’s second disclosed data breach this year. Earlier, the company reported a security incident involving its Uber Freight truck-shipping business, in which an extortion group claimed to have stolen company data. The latest disclosures highlight the continuing risk companies face from compromises within their supply chains, where a breach at a smaller vendor can expose sensitive information held through third-party services.