Former Uber security chief faces criminal charges for hiding 2016 breach

Enlarge (credit: Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Federal prosecutors have charged former Uber security chief Joe Sullivan with obstruction of justice for hiding a 2016 data breach from Federal Trade Commission investigators. Sullivan is now the chief security officer at Cloudflare.

In an emailed statement, a spokesman for Sullivan said the government's charges have "no merit."

"From the outset, Sullivan and his team collaborated closely with legal, communications and other relevant teams at Uber, in accordance with the company's written policies," the spokesman wrote. "Those policies made clear that Uber's legal department-and not Mr. Sullivan or his group-was responsible for deciding whether, and to whom, the matter should be disclosed."

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