Aug 2, 2022 - Economy

Wire fraud charges dropped in hacking case against ex-Uber security officer

Shawna Chen

Photo of a car windshield with the Uber sticker on it — An Uber driver arrives to pick up a passenger at Midway International Airport on May 9, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Photo: Scott Olson via Getty Images

A federal judge has granted a motion to dismiss three wire fraud charges against Joseph Sullivan, Uber's former chief security officer who allegedly tried to conceal a 2016 data breach in which hackers stole the account information of 50 million customers and seven million drivers.

Yes, but: Sullivan still faces charges for obstructing a U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proceeding and failing to report a felony.

It's unclear why prosecutors moved to dismiss the wire fraud charges, which U.S. District Judge James Donato granted.

The big picture: Prosecutors say Sullivan arranged to pay the hackers $100,000 to delete the data and cover up the incident.

Sullivan also allegedly concealed information from Uber officials who could have reported the data breach to the FTC, according to the Justice Department.

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Wire fraud charges dropped in hacking case against ex-Uber security officer

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