Privacy commissioner opens formal investigation into Uber data breach

OTTAWA — The federal privacy commissioner has opened a formal investigation into the large data breach that Uber announced in November.

The decision to launch the probe comes weeks after Uber disclosed that hackers stole the personal information from 57 million Uber accounts close to a year earlier.

News of the breach prompted authorities in the U.S. and U.K. to launch formal investigations immediately, while the commissioner in Canada initially asked that Uber file a report explaining how the breach happened and its impact on Canadians.

In response to the now formal investigation, Uber Canada spokesman Jean-Christophe de le Rue wrote in an email that the privacy of Uber riders and drivers is of paramount importance and the company will continue to work with the commissioner.

Uber has yet to say how many Canadians may have been affected, but has told U.K. authorities that about 2.7 million people may have had information stolen.

The company said when announcing the hack that it had not seen evidence of fraud or misuse from it, and that it had arranged to have the stolen data destroyed.