Following a rumor that its network had been compromised and the firm had to shut down many internal communications and engineering systems, Uber Technologies Inc. announced Thursday that it was looking into a cybersecurity problem.
According to a New York Times article on Thursday that quoted an Uber representative, a hacker infiltrated an employee's workplace messaging software Slack and used it to send a message to Uber employees informing them of the company's data breach.
The report said that it appeared the hacker then managed to access other internal systems, uploading an explicit image on an internal information website for the staff.
Without offering further information, Uber tweeted, "We are in contact with law enforcement and will share additional updates here as they become available."
According to the Times investigation, which used two workers who were not allowed to talk in public, Uber took the Slack system offline on Thursday afternoon after employees got the message from the hacker.
The report said the letter began, "I proclaim I am a hacker and Uber has had a data breach," and named a number of allegedly hacked corporate systems.
An individual who took ownership of the breach informed the newspaper that he had texted an Uber employee under the guise of a corporate IT specialist.
According to the article, the employee was convinced to provide a password that gave the hacker access to Uber's computer systems.
In response to Reuters, Slack stated that the event was under investigation and that there was no proof of a platform vulnerability.
Slack, owned by Salesforce Inc., said, "Uber is a valued customer, and we are available to support them if they need us.
According to the allegation, Uber staff were told not to use Slack. There was no access to any more internal systems.