A former employee of taxi hailing app Uber has claimed that staff used the app to track the movements of celebrities and ex-partners.
Ward Spangenberg, a former investigator for Uber, was fired by the firm earlier this year. The Evening Standard reports that Spangenberg is now suing his former employer for wrongful termination and age discrimination.
He said: “Uber’s lack of security regarding its customer data was resulting in Uber employees being able to track high-profile politicians, celebrities, and even personal acquaintances, including ex-boyfriends or girlfriends and ex-spouses.”
Spangenberg went on to claim that the company have gone someway in making reforms on security – which they always maintained was very strict – but added that those who knew what they were doing “could get away with it forever”.
A spokesperson for the company spoke to The Evening Standard, claiming that Spangenberg’s accusations were “absolutely untrue.”
They said: “Uber continues to increase our security investments and many of these efforts, like our multi-factor authentication checks and bug bounty program, have been widely reported.
“We have hundreds of security and privacy experts working around the clock to protect our data. This includes enforcing to authorised employees solely for purposes of their job responsibilities, and all potential violations are quickly and thoroughly investigated.”
