• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • 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

Big TechSpotify
Spotify users lamented Wrapped in 2024. This year, the company brought back an old favorite and made it less about AI
By Dave Lozo and Morning BrewDecember 4, 2025
5 hours ago
InnovationVenture Capital
This Khosla Ventures–backed startup is using AI to personalize cancer care
By Allie GarfinkleDecember 4, 2025
9 hours ago
AIEye on AI
Companies are increasingly falling victim to AI impersonation scams. This startup just raised $28M to stop deepfakes in real time
By Sharon GoldmanDecember 4, 2025
9 hours ago
Jensen Huang
SuccessBillionaires
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he works 7 days a week, including holidays, in a constant ‘state of anxiety’ out of fear of going bankrupt
By Jessica CoacciDecember 4, 2025
10 hours ago
Ted Pick
BankingData centers
Morgan Stanley considers offloading some of its data-center exposure
By Esteban Duarte, Paula Seligson, Davide Scigliuzzo and BloombergDecember 4, 2025
10 hours ago
Zuckerberg
EnergyMeta
Meta’s Zuckerberg plans deep cuts for metaverse efforts
By Kurt Wagner and BloombergDecember 4, 2025
10 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Two months into the new fiscal year and the U.S. government is already spending more than $10 billion a week servicing national debt
By Eleanor PringleDecember 4, 2025
15 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
‘Godfather of AI’ says Bill Gates and Elon Musk are right about the future of work—but he predicts mass unemployment is on its way
By Preston ForeDecember 4, 2025
10 hours ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Health
Bill Gates decries ‘significant reversal in child deaths’ as nearly 5 million kids will die before they turn 5 this year
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 4, 2025
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Ford workers told their CEO 'none of the young people want to work here.' So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder's playbook
By Sasha RogelbergNovember 28, 2025
6 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nearly 4 million new manufacturing jobs are coming to America as boomers retire—but it's the one trade job Gen Z doesn't want
By Emma BurleighDecember 4, 2025
11 hours ago
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
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • 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
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 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.