Uber Ripley Program: Company Shut Down Computers To Block Law Enforcement Access

In order to deal with its perpetual run-ins with regulators and law enforcement, ride-sharing app Uber developed a program that could remotely shut down all computers in an office in order to thwart police raids, Bloomberg reported . The program, known internally as Ripley, was put into action at least two dozen times in order to prevent regulators and law enforcement from gaining access to information from the company's computers--even when a proper warrant was provided. Uber reportedly trained its employees working in foreign offices to utilize Ripley any time police came knocking at their door. During such an event, a manager would call a number for a phone in the company headquarters in San Francisco. There, a special team was waiting to field the call and spring into action.