Court Discloses Criminal Allegations Against
Uber (The Information)
Prepare yourself for a list of allegations against Uber’s security and competitive intelligence team that resemble the work of an authoritarian government. A letter disclosed in Waymo’s civil trade-secrets-theft case against Uber, written by an ex-Uber security employee, alleges things like:
*Unlawfully recording an employee conference call that was supposed to be part of Uber’s “anonymous and candid Listening Sessions” after the company was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee (presumably Susan Fowler).
*Hiring CIA-trained operators for things like recruiting someone on the senior leadership team of a rival (one possibility is Ola in India, based on the redactions in the document) to be Uber’s spy, plus recruiting other informants who worked at rivals.
*Uber spoofing rider and driver accounts to gather data on rivals, a la the “Hell” program targeting Lyft, which The Information first disclosed. And collecting detailed information about people who drove for rivals, and 35,000 taxi driver records, by outsmarting software meant to prevent automated downloading of website information.
*Uber “virtually impersonated” protesters and taxi operators in order to gather data about politicians, regulators, law enforcement, taxi companies and other possible enemies, sometimes by getting invited to their private WhatsApp and Facebook groups. And it conducted physical “eavesdropping” to that effect, too, in one case via a listening device (“bug”) at a transport regulator meeting.
*A “hacking” by Uber was also alleged, but the details were redacted.
*Spying on rival executives in private hotel and conference spaces in order to record their reactions to news such as Uber’s $3.5 billion financing by Saudi Arabia.
*Collecting mobile phone call records to understand the activities of “opposition figures, politicians, and government regulators.”
*“Espionage” against an unnamed “sovereign nation” in order to find out which politicians were supportive of groups that opposed Uber.
*Bribes to officials overseas, which is illegal and for which Uber already is being investigated. Over the next year or so, Uber probably will face more criminal probes than we can count. –Amir
