• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechCybersecurity

Uber Wants to Be Hacked

Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 22, 2016, 10:55 AM ET
ROAD-SERVICES-DEMO
A protester wears a shirt displaying the logo of smartphone ride service Uber during by a protest by non-licensed private hire drivers blocking the Place de la Nation in Paris on February 9, 2016. Members of services known in France as "voitures de tourisme avec chauffeur" (VTC - Tourism vehicle with driver) have been protesting against assurances the French Prime minister has given to taxis. / AFP / Geoffroy Van der Hasselt (Photo credit should read GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP/Getty Images)Photograph by Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt—AFP via Getty Images

A year after debuting a private computer bug bounty program, Uber said it is doubling down on its cybersecurity effort by expanding and opening the program to the public.

The white-hot, ride-hailing firm—last valued at more than $60 billion—says it is also introducing an unusual loyalty rewards program for participants. Hackers who uncover a string of bugs will receive bonus payouts, the sums of which are determined as a portion—10%—of the average of the previous rewards.

Hackers who report critical vulnerabilities can earn as much as $10,000 for their work, the company said.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

“The way we thought about the bonus program was like bowling a couple of strikes in row—you add more on top of the previous amount,” explains Collin Greene, a security engineer at Uber who manages the project and who previously oversaw Facebook’s (FB) bug bounty program. “We think its an exciting way to get people locked in,” he adds, mentioning he hopes it will encourage researchers to take the time to get up to speed on the unfamiliar system.

Greene tells Fortune that he is most excited about the company’s creation of a “treasure map,” a document containing details about the architecture and layouts of Uber’s websites and apps. He says the map will make it easier for outsiders to find security vulnerabilities.

For more on hacking, watch:

During the 9-month initial limited trial period, Greene cites the most common bugs found were “missing authorization” bugs, which pay $5,000 a piece and do not endanger customer information. The first run had 200 invited participants, who filed a total of about 100 reported issues.

Uber has chosen to run the program through HackerOne, a bug bounty startup that originally spun out of Facebook. The startup has about 500 programs up and running at companies such as Twitter (TWTR), Yahoo (YHOO), Square (SQ), and Snapchat, three-quarters of which are private.

Alex Rice, co-founder and chief technology officer of HackerOne and one of the original designers of the program at Facebook, tells Fortune that Uber’s approach is more open than many other organizations. “They’re doing a pretty unprecedented level of transparency,” he posits, mentioning the plans for a so-called treasure map.

Read more: “Google Just Doubled the Reward for Cracking into Chromebooks“

Uber recently poached a number of top security personnel from the social network, including Uber’s security chief Joe Sullivan. “Even with a team of highly-qualified and well trained security experts, you need to be constantly on the look-out for ways to improve,” Sullivan said in a statement about the initiative. “This bug bounty program will help ensure that our code is as secure as possible. And our unique loyalty scheme will encourage the security community to become experts when it comes to Uber.”

The bug bounty program complements a number of other key cybersecurity hires that Uber has made in the past year. In addition to on-boarding 40 Carnegie Mellon roboticists, the company poached Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, last year’s infamous Jeep Grand Cherokee hackers, from their respective roles at Twitter and cybersecurity firm IOActive.

The U.S. Department of Defense also made waves at last month’s RSA cybersecurity conference in San Francisco when Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said the Pentagon planned to introduce a bug bounty program of its own. Other companies that have implemented such programs include General Motors (GM), Tesla (TSLA), and United Airlines (UAL), which offers frequent flier miles as rewards.

About the Author
Robert Hackett
By Robert Hackett
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
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
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
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Disney’s new CEO is exploring a ‘super app’ for theme park tickets, movies and more
Big TechMedia
Disney’s new CEO is exploring a ‘super app’ for theme park tickets, movies and more
By Thomas Buckley, Lucas Shaw and BloombergMay 2, 2026
6 hours ago
Apple raises Mac Mini’s starting price to $799 after AI frenzy drains supply
AIChips
Apple raises Mac Mini’s starting price to $799 after AI frenzy drains supply
By Chris Welch, Mark Gurman and BloombergMay 2, 2026
6 hours ago
Unionized workers form alliance with rich tech giants on AI data centers, pushing back on local opposition and redrawing political lines
AIData centers
Unionized workers form alliance with rich tech giants on AI data centers, pushing back on local opposition and redrawing political lines
By Marc Levy and The Associated PressMay 2, 2026
6 hours ago
Jensen Huang says some CEOs have a ‘God complex’ when it comes to AI apocalypse warnings, which can create shortages of critical workers
AIchief executive officer (CEO)
Jensen Huang says some CEOs have a ‘God complex’ when it comes to AI apocalypse warnings, which can create shortages of critical workers
By Jason MaMay 2, 2026
11 hours ago
Photo of several people working on a presentation together
AICareers
Big Tech is shelling out up to $1 million for new hires who will never have to write a line of code
By Sydney LakeMay 2, 2026
13 hours ago
dario
CommentaryAnthropic
Anthropic’s most powerful AI model just exposed a crisis in corporate governance. Here’s the framework every CEO needs.
By Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Stephen Henriques, Dan Kent and Holden LeeMay 2, 2026
16 hours ago

Most Popular

Scott Bessent on financial literacy: 'it drives me crazy' to see young men in blue-collar construction jobs playing the lottery
Personal Finance
Scott Bessent on financial literacy: 'it drives me crazy' to see young men in blue-collar construction jobs playing the lottery
By Fatima Hussein and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
2 days ago
Gen Z is rebelling against the economy with ‘disillusionomics,’ tackling near 6-figure debt by turning life into a giant list of income streams
Economy
Gen Z is rebelling against the economy with ‘disillusionomics,’ tackling near 6-figure debt by turning life into a giant list of income streams
By Jacqueline MunisMay 2, 2026
13 hours ago
Current price of oil as of May 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 1, 2026
2 days ago
A Chick-fil-A worker got fired and then showed up behind the register to allegedly refund himself over $80,000 in mac and cheese
Law
A Chick-fil-A worker got fired and then showed up behind the register to allegedly refund himself over $80,000 in mac and cheese
By Catherina GioinoMay 1, 2026
1 day ago
Stop donating to Harvard and the Ivy League. There's a better option that MacKenzie Scott already figured out
Commentary
Stop donating to Harvard and the Ivy League. There's a better option that MacKenzie Scott already figured out
By Ed Smith-LewisMay 2, 2026
19 hours ago
The American household just took an 81% margin cut. Wall Street hasn’t priced it in
Commentary
The American household just took an 81% margin cut. Wall Street hasn’t priced it in
By Katica RoyMay 2, 2026
16 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.