Uber Names Ex-NSA General Counsel Matt Olsen as Chief Security Officer

Uber Technologies named Matt Olsen as its chief security officer, the ride-hailing company's Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Khosrowshahi hired Olsen, a former general counsel of the US National Security Agency (NSA), in November following a breach in 2016 that exposed the data of some 57 million users of the ride-sharing service.

Uber had fired its chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, and a deputy, Craig Clark, in November over their role in the handling of the incident.

Separately, Uber said on Wednesday it narrowed its quarterly losses from a year earlier, although the ride-hailing company is still a long way from proving it can be profitable as it gears up to go public in 2019.

Under the leadership of Dara Khosrowshahi, who became chief executive in September, Uber has juggled investing in new markets while retreating from others where it was losing millions of dollars. It is building up services like food delivery and freight hauling as it seeks new revenue, and possibly a path to profitability, outside its core business.

Uber's net loss narrowed to $891 million (roughly Rs. 6,200 crores) in its second quarter ending June 30 from $1.1 billion a year earlier. Its adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation was $614 million, down from $773 million a year earlier.

Net revenue rose more quickly than gross bookings in the second quarter from the prior period as the company dialled back on promotional subsidies of rides.

© Thomson Reuters 2018