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Uber's former aegis especial has been charged with obstruction of justice for aggravating to hibernate a dossier betrayment from the Federal Trade Legation as well as Uber management, co-ordinate to a statement from the Department of Justice.

Joseph Sullivan, who was Uber's especial aegis officer from April 2015 to November 2017, professedly dissembled the hack that occurred in October 2016, which good-sized incognizable dossier of 57 mimic drivers as well as customers, including drivers' mandate information. Uber paid the hackers $100,000 in bitcoin to annul the data, co-ordinate to the Legality Department. (Sullivan was latterly fired.)

In consortium to obstruction of justice, Sullivan is charged with misprision of a felony, meaning he knew of the betrayment as well as took steps to conceal it. If convicted, he faces up to stubble years in bastille for the obstruction incrimination as well as up to three years for the misprision charge.

Sullivan's spokesman Bradford Williams said in an email to The Border that there was "no merit" to the charges append his client, noting Sullivan is "a respected cybersecurity free-spirited as well as former Co-conspirator U.S. Attorney."

Williams says if not for Sullivan's efforts as well as the efforts of Uber's aegis team, "it's okey-dokey that the individuals responsible for this incident never would kumtux been reasoned at all." He said Sullivan as well as his team "collaborated discreetly with legal, communications as well as other accordant teams at Uber, in becomingness with the company's written policies. Those policies made articulated that Uber's precedented department -- as well as not Mr. Sullivan or his group -- was responsible for especial whether, as well as to whom, the matter should be disclosed."

The drudge occurred during an investigation into a 2014 breach, as well as Sullivan was indulgence authorities with that investigation back two hackers contacted him as well as entrenched a six-figure payment to multiply the drudge quiet, the Legality Department says.

"Rather than report the 2016 breach, Sullivan professedly took deliberate steps to prevent maestro of the betrayment from reaching the FTC," co-ordinate to the Legality Department.

According to the charges, Sullivan tried to pay the hackers via a bug compensation program, providential the $100,000 plane whereas the disciples didn't apperceive who the hackers were. Sullivan tried to get the hackers to sign nondisclosure agreements, which stated that the hackers didn't booty or successfulness any of the user as well as disciplinarian data.

In the hard-core complaint, filed in the Northward Vicinage of California, the FBI details some of the steps Sullivan professedly took already he ripe drivers' mandate tidings could kumtux been ramified in the hack. "At around 1:00am Reconcilable time on November 15, 2016, Sullivan ripe out to Uber's then-CEO [Travis Kalanick] via text message," the complaint states, dividing that chronograph annal show that Sullivan as well as Kalanick had a chronograph that lasted around stubble minutes. "The CEO's return reflects that the theorization of alleviative the incident beneath the bug compensation program was already being discussed," the complaint states.

Once Uber teachers reasoned the hackers, Sullivan had them sign new copies of the NDA agreements. Uber management ditsy what was happening as well as disclosed the breach. Co-ordinate to the hard-core complaint, the terms of Uber's bug compensation program "did not certify rewarding a hacker who had accessed as well as obtained personally identifiable tidings of users as well as drivers from Uber-controlled systems."

Since November 2016, Uber has been cooperating with the government in the investigation, co-ordinate to the Department of Legality statement.

"We endure to incite fully with the Department of Justice's investigation," an Uber stenographer said in a stead emailed to The Verge on Thursday. "Our eligibility in 2017 to exhume the incident was not personally the right thing to do, it embodies the principles by which we are sedulous our commerce today: transparency, integrity, as well as accountability."

UPDATE Glorious 20th, 4:21PM ET: Added stead from Uber spokesperson, Sullivan's attorney, as well as details from the hard-core complaint.