Uber has had an interesting year to say the least, losing its CEO amid allegations of sexual harassment, along with trying to ramp up its plans for self-driving cars. Now a recent data breach has come to light, in which the information of 57 million users may have been compromised. 

With such data breaches a growing concern in recent years, what makes this news more alarming is the fact that Uber paid hackers in order to cover it up. The company recently sat down with Bloomberg in order to reveal the news, confirming that the incident took place in October 2016. Furthermore, they paid hackers roughly $100 000 to ensure that all the information was deleted and to buy their silence for a year. 

At this stage, there's no indication of whether the information was used for any malicious activities, but given the extent that Uber went to in making sure news of the breach did not reach the public, there is little evidence to support the contrary. 

"None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it," noted recently appointed Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Adding, "we are changing the way we do business." 

It remains to be seen if such changes will include the improved security measures, or indeed greater transparency when similar breaches occur, however, this news is remains very disconcerting for users.