• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechUber Technologies

Uber employees are being barraged with obscene images in a major hack, and they’re worried their financial data may have been compromised

Kylie Robison
By
Kylie Robison
Kylie Robison
Down Arrow Button Icon
Kylie Robison
By
Kylie Robison
Kylie Robison
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 16, 2022, 12:17 AM ET
Uber CEO with hands shurgged.
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, now in the process of investigating a systems breach that occurred on Sept. 15.David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images

An employee at Uber described scenes of chaos on Thursday night as the ride-hailing company’s computer systems were commandeered in a devastating hack that buffeted staffers with obscene images. 

The breach occurred on Thursday afternoon and quickly rendered many of the company’s internal systems, including Slack messaging, unusable.

The employee told Fortune that upon opening a work laptop, all internal websites displayed a picture of an “erect penis” with the text “FUCK YOU DUMB WANKERS.”

Uber employees received automated text messages from the company around 3 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday announcing that staff worldwide were being targeted in a phishing attack. A follow-up messaging told workers to “stop using Slack until further notice,” according to screenshots viewed by Fortune. The message informed staffers that the company was “working to resolve an issue and [would] send additional updates.”

The New York Times reported that a person claiming responsibility for the hack said they were 18 years old and had gained access to Uber’s systems by posing as an employee in the company’s IT department and tricking a staffer to reveal their password. 

Several hours after Uber warned employees about the attack, staff still had no access to their systems, according to the employee Fortune spoke to. The employee said that colleagues were worried their personal information, including potential financial information, may have been accessed in the breach.

Some Uber employees were also upset because their colleagues apparently tried to engage with the hacker or hackers, taunting them on Slack rather than logging off as the company’s security alert instructed. Some Uber engineers wrote things like, “Can you take down Jira?” and “Can you fix this bug?” according to the employee.

People are “really angry” that some engineers are “still making jokes,” the source said.

An Uber representative did not immediately return a request for comment.

Are you a tech employee with insight to share? Got a tip? Contact Kylie Robison at kylie.robison@fortune.com, through secure messaging app Signal at 415-735-6829 or Twitter DM at @kyliebytes.

About the Author
Kylie Robison
By Kylie Robison
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

AITech
Meta’s $27 billion AI data center is causing chaos in small town Louisiana
By Sharon GoldmanMarch 26, 2026
24 minutes ago
MagazineChina
The world’s consumers are ready for robotaxis. James Peng of Pony AI wants to make sure they’re riding in his
By Nicholas GordonMarch 26, 2026
24 minutes ago
lancaster
AIschools
Two private school boys get probation for using AI to create 350 fake nudes of their classmates
By Mark Scolforo and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
11 hours ago
melania
PoliticsWhite House
Enter Melania Trump, escorted by humanoid robot: ‘I’m Figure 03, a humanoid built for the United States of America’
By Darlene Superville and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
11 hours ago
bernie
AICongress
Bernie Sanders and AOC launch bill to ban new data-center construction
By Matthew Daly and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
11 hours ago
Big TechSocial Media
A court just ruled that tech addiction is real—and dangerous. It could be Meta and YouTube’s Big Tobacco moment
By Kristin StollerMarch 25, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

Magazine
The youngest-ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company is fighting Trump's cuts to keep Medicaid strong
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
2 days ago
Success
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
2 days ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
3 days ago
Success
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon says remote work breeds ‘rope-a-dope politics’ and stunts young workers’ growth
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
16 hours ago
Success
The job market is so bad that ‘reverse recruiters’ are charging $1,500 a month just to help people look for jobs
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
24 hours ago
C-Suite
'I didn’t want anybody shooting me': Five Guys CEO gave away $1.5 million bonus to employees over botched BOGO burger birthday celebration
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
12 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.