Uber traces data hack perpetrator back to rival Lyft CTO Chris Lambert. (Photo : Reuters)
Eight months after Uber publicly announced that its computer network was hacked, the company is currently focusing on an IP address associated with the attack. Reports claim that the IP is link to Uber's competition, Lyft.
In February, Uber released a statement claiming that an unauthorized third party was able to penetrate its database back in May 2014. The intention of the hack was to download sensitive Uber driver data. Uber said that the attack only occurred once but it has compromised more than 50,000 drivers spanning several states.
The hack was initiated after Uber accidentally left its database secure key on a publicly accessible GitHub page. After the attack, GitHub was ordered to release all of the IP addresses that accessed the security key posted on its website.
After months of analyzing the IP addresses, one IP address linked to a Comcast user stood out of the rest. According to Reuters, its sources claim that the Comcast IP was traced back to Lyft chief technology officer Chris Lambert. The report added that the hacker used a virtual private network based in a country within the Scandinavian region.
Following the release of this information, a Lyft spokesperson told PC Mag, "We investigated this matter long ago and there are no facts or evidence that any Lyft employee, including Chris, download the Uber driver information or database, or had anything to do with Uber's May 2014 data break."
Lyft and Uber have been in constant tussle for customers and drivers. On the other hand, Lambert has been working with Lyft since 2012. Prior to his current stint with Lyft, he worked as a software engineer at Google for five years.
