Ex-Uber security chief found guilty of obstructing FTC data breach probe
By Aaron Nicodemus2022-10-06T20:03:00
The former chief security officer of Uber Technologies was found guilty of two felonies connected to allegations he covered up a massive data breach at the ridesharing company and misled federal regulators about Uber’s response.
Joseph Sullivan was convicted by a jury Wednesday of obstruction of justice and misprision of felony (concealment) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He faces up to five years in prison on the obstruction charge and three years on the misprision charge and will be sentenced at a later date, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
“The message in today’s guilty verdict is clear: Companies storing their customers’ data have a responsibility to protect that data and do the right thing when breaches occur,” said Robert Tripp, special agent in charge at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in the release. “The FBI and our government partners will not allow rogue technology company executives to put American consumers’ personal information at risk for their own gain.”