Uber drivers have been warned that their details might have been compromised in a cyber-attack on the taxi app’s database.
As many as 50,000 drivers names and driving license numbers are thought to have been affected by the breach, which the company discovered in September some four months after it is believed to have taken place.
Katherine Tassi, managing counsel of data privacy at Uber, said: "Immediately upon discovery we changed the access protocols for the database, removing the possibility of unauthorized access.
"We are notifying impacted drivers, but we have not received any reports of actual misuse of information as a result of this incident."
A free one-year membership of Experian’s identity protection service has been offered by Uber to victims of the attack, which is thought to have been a one-off incident.
The company has also filed a John Doe lawsuit, which targets unknown assailants, in an attempt to discover the identity of the attacker.
"Uber takes seriously our responsibility to safeguard personal information, and we are sorry for any inconvenience this incident may cause," Tassi added.
The public disclosure follows a flurry of lawsuits bedevilling Uber in recent months over the safety of its service for passengers, as well as the affect it is having on the traditional taxi industry.
"The recent Uber hacking is another stark reminder of how proper identity management is crucial to business protection in today’s digital age," said Jason Goode, managing director EMEA at Ping Identity.
"Organisations of all sizes must continually re-evaluate their access management policies and identity security posture to ensure a safe and convenient experience for employees and customers."
