Uber says 815,000 Canadians affected by data breach as investigation launched

Uber Canada said late Monday that 815,000 Canadian riders and drivers may have been affected as part of its worldwide data breach announced in November.

The disclosure came the same day the federal privacy commissioner said it had opened a formal investigation into the data breach, which saw the theft of information from some 57 million Uber accounts globally in October 2016.

Uber said the information taken includes names, email address, and mobile phone numbers from the accounts, but that its investigation has not identified any location history, credit card numbers, bank account numbers or dates of birth were downloaded.

Uber Canada spokesperson Jean-Christophe de le Rue said the company will co-operate with the commissioner's investigation.

"The privacy of riders and drivers is of paramount importance at Uber and we will continue to work with the privacy commissioner on this matter."

News of the breach prompted authorities in the U.S. and U.K. to launch formal investigations immediately, while the commissioner in Canada initially asked that Uber file a report explaining how the breach happened and its impact on Canadians.