CONFERENCE On Demand: Cyber AI & Automation Summit - Watch Now
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cybercrime

T-Mobile Data Breach Hits Over 2 Million Customers

T-Mobile revealed late on Thursday that the personal details of “a small percentage” of customers were exposed after hackers gained access to its systems.

T-Mobile revealed late on Thursday that the personal details of “a small percentage” of customers were exposed after hackers gained access to its systems.

According to the company, the attackers did not access payment card data, social security numbers (SSNs) or passwords. However, they may have stolen personal information such as names, billing zip codes, phone numbers, email addresses, account numbers, and account type. Impacted customers are being notified.

The data breach was discovered and shut down by T-Mobile’s security team on August 20. The company said it also reported the incident to authorities.

T-Mobile’s public statement provides no other details about the incident, but the firm’s representatives told SecurityWeek that the breach impacts roughly 3 percent of its 77 million customers, which represents approximately 2.3 million individuals.

“We always encourage customers to make sure they have PIN/passcodes on their accounts as well as a strong password, and to change their account passwords as well as the PIN/passcode frequently,” the company said in an emailed statement. “If any customers have questions or concerns they should feel free to contact our customer care team by dialing 611 from their mobile phones.”

T-Mobile also told Motherboard that the attackers were likely part of an international group and that they leveraged an API to access the company’s servers.

“This security incident favourably stands out among many others by prompt detection and transparent disclosure,” said Ilia Kolochenko, CEO of High-Tech Bridge. “Many of the recent data breaches, including the most disastrous ones, were discovered weeks ago but then announced months after the occurrence. T-Mobile serves as a laudable example of prompt incident response. This, however, does not absolve them from accountability for the breach and further cybersecurity enhancement to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

Related: Experian Hack Exposes Data of 15 Million T-Mobile Consumers

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Related: T-Mobile ‘Incredibly Angry’ Over Breach via Credit Bureau

Written By

Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a managing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.

Click to comment

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join us as we delve into the transformative potential of AI, predictive ChatGPT-like tools and automation to detect and defend against cyberattacks.

Register

As cybersecurity breaches and incidents escalate, the cyber insurance ecosystem is undergoing rapid and transformational change.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Cybercrime

The changing nature of what we still generally call ransomware will continue through 2023, driven by three primary conditions.

Cybercrime

As it evolves, web3 will contain and increase all the security issues of web2 – and perhaps add a few more.

Cybercrime

A recently disclosed vBulletin vulnerability, which had a zero-day status for roughly two days last week, was exploited in a hacker attack targeting the...

Cybercrime

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group informed some customers last week that their online accounts had been breached by hackers.

Cybercrime

Zendesk is informing customers about a data breach that started with an SMS phishing campaign targeting the company’s employees.

Cybercrime

Satellite TV giant Dish Network confirmed that a recent outage was the result of a cyberattack and admitted that data was stolen.

Artificial Intelligence

The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 has demonstrated the potential of AI for both good and bad.

Cybercrime

A new study by McAfee and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) named a staggering figure as the true annual cost of...