Uber is a staple of the gig economy, for better or for worse, and a disruptive factor that once shocked the entire transportation space. Now, however, Uber is taken for granted. The company is engaged in far-reaching penetration in cyber security. According to the transport giant, the attacker was unable to access sensitive user data, or at least there is no evidence to the contrary. Whether or not sensitive user data is exposed, this status indicates an ongoing problem with modern apps. Can we continue to sacrifice our data – and thus our privacy and security – for convenience?
Web2, a land of hackable attractions
Uber’s history with data breaches is not entirely clean. In July alone, the transportation giant quietly acknowledged a massive 2016 hack that stole the personal data of 57 million customers. In that sense, the timing of a new incident could not be worse, and given the time it takes to prove the damage caused by such breaches, the full extent of the incident has yet to emerge.
Uber’s data breach is not unusual – Web2 apps are ubiquitous, seeping deep into our lives, and many of them, from Facebook to DoorDash, have also been leaked. The more Web2 applications spread in and out of the consumer space, the more such incidents will occur in the long term.
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The problem is related to the architecture of applications built on Web2. Through their central technology teams, they naturally create tours that contain sensitive user data, from payment details to consumer behaviour. As users channel more and more data through more consumer applications, hackers become more and more tempted.
The only real solution to the problem is also the most radical: consumer applications must use Web3, restructure the data and payment architectures to provide users with more security and privacy, and welcome the new era of the Internet.
What will Web3 Uber look like?
Web3 does not necessarily mean changing the interfaces we interact with. In fact, it could be argued that continuity and similarity are the keys to adoption. Web3 Uber will look and feel very shallow. It will have the same general purpose and functionality as existing Web2 call routing applications. But below decks it would be a completely different beast. The advantages of Web3, such as decentralized governance, data sovereignty and pervasive monetization models – systems that democratically distribute profits – are all hidden beneath the surface.
Web3 is about verifiable ownership. For the first time, people can own verifiable assets, digital or physical, over the Internet. It’s about owning value in the form of cryptocurrency, but with a Web3 transfer it’s also about retaining ownership of your data and ownership of applications, underlying networks and the vehicles themselves.
Web3, Web 2.0, Uber, hacks, hackers, cybercrime, cyber security, data
In practice, Web3 Uber will allow users to control how much data they provide, to whom and when. Web3 Uber will move away from centralized databases in favor of peer-to-peer networks. Autonomous identities – decentralized digital identities that you own and manage – will enable people and machines to obtain decentralized digital passports that do not rely on a single central authority for proper functionality.
Drivers and passengers will be able to check themselves into the Web3 Passenger Application using their SSI in a completely peer-to-peer manner. They will also be able to choose which data they want to share or sell and to whom, as well as full ownership of their personal data and digital footprints.
Decentralized governance will lead to another massive transformation. This will mean that all stakeholders, be they drivers, passengers, app developers or investors, will be able to co-own, co-manage and monetize at all levels, from infrastructure supporting a decentralized application (DApp) to complexities. the DApp itself. . It will be a transport application by users and users.
Imagine for a moment that the fees charged by Uber were decided by drivers and riders instead of being dictated by a Silicon Valley conference room. Ask the next Uber driver what they think. In turn, users will be able to vote on things such as price increases in the event of natural disasters in the basket.
