Telecommunications company T Mobile data breach affected more than a million customers. The breach exposed the customers’ personal data.
Moreover, the company sent a notice to its affected customers. But, they did not give complete details about the hack.
The data T Mobile Data Breach exposed
The unauthorized access of hackers to its prepaid data customers compromised the following:
- names of customers
- billing addresses
- phone numbers
- account numbers
- rate and plan of prepaid data
- calling features of the plan
Yet, the company said that no financial or password data leaked.
The effect of the T Mobile Data breach
A T Mobile representative said that few were affected. And that it’s only less than 1.5 percent.
So, if it’s 1.5 percent of its estimated 75 million users, it is equal to over a million users.
Their responses
T Mobile alerted its customers promptly. But, their notice lacks more details.
Additionally, they said that they discovered the attack in November. And that they shut down the breach immediately.
Yet, they did not provide info. As to whether the exposed data belongs to the public-face or an internal database.
Also, T Mobile did not tell us how long the data breach lasted. And they didn’t inform the customers about their actions, too.
However, they said that they are now improving their security measures. Also, they are working hard to prevent the same thing from happening again.
The company added that they review their security rules and ways to protect the information.
Another T Mobile Data breach after six months
For the second time again, T Mobile announced another data breach in its email.
This time, it attacked one of their email partners. So, it accessed the accounts of their employees.
Moreover, it accessed personal data like account numbers and addresses. Still, the breach did not affect the customers’ credit card information.
Additionally, T Mobile has no evidence that the hackers use the information for fraud. And they contacted the federal law for the report.
Lastly, they said that they cooperate with the law for the investigation.
The danger
The leaked information is not very harmful. But, hackers can steal your identity. Also, they can take over your account and pretend that they are you.
What you can do to protect your data
T Mobile did not disclose how many users were affected. But they suggested the following. Change your personal identification number (PIN/passcode).
What we can learn
Any company should follow the information protection law. Their number one priority should be the proper handling and storing of the customer data.
Also, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a fine against the company. T Mobile sold access to its customers’ locations. And no protection to it.
Another lesson we learned is that if we want to avoid fines. We should take care of the information trusted by our customers.
Companies should be able to protect the data from unauthorized access. And T Mobile failed to do so.
Additionally, wireless carrier companies should be alert. They are one of the targets of hackers. Why?
The value of the information is high. So, if they sell the stolen data to the black market, they can earn a lot.
