The American telecommunications provider T-Mobile falls victim to yet another data breach. More than 100 million user data have been stolen, including names, physical addresses, phone numbers, security numbers, unique IMEI numbers and driver license information. The hacker is reportedly selling a subset of the data for approximately $280,000.
T-Mobile Data Breach 2021
According to Motherboard, a hacker posted the sale on an underground forum. Sources contacted the seller and were told that data came from compromised T-Mobile servers. The seller also said, "I think they already found out because we lost access to the backdoored servers."
The hacker emphasized that the transaction will not be affected by T-Mobile's actions because they have already backed up all stolen data locally. Motherboard was given samples of the data, which they confirmed was exact information on the T-Mobile customers.
The sale offer was a subset data of 30 million social security numbers and driver's licenses for six Bitcoins, equal to $278,794.93 according to Coindesk calculator. Note that the exact value might change because bitcoin pricing varied in real-time.
The hacker is selling access to the rest of the stolen data privately.
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T-Mobile Data Leak and Hacking History
This is, unfortunately, the second T-Mobile data leak that happened this year. Early in February, T-Mobile also confirmed a data breach that led to customer SIM swap frauds, also known as SIM hijacking.
In summary, SIM hijacking happens when someone takes control of the victim's phone number. Hackers can automatically receive the victims' calls and messages, steal their user credentials, and take over their online service accounts.
Bleeping Computer said that the number of SIM swap attacks remains undisclosed by T-Mobile.
T-Mobile has a notably long history of data breaches. They reportedly fell victim to security breaches in 2018 and 2019, both leaking millions of user data.
Last year in March, T-Mobile customers and employees data were also stolen. In December, hackers gained access to customers' phone numbers and call history records.
T-Mobile Hacked, Is There a Fix?
T-Mobile seems aware of these recent attacks and might be working on a few fixes for its systems. Per Gizmodo, a spokesperson said they are currently investigating the latest data breach. Also note that their service continues to remain open to interested customers.
Aside from its hacking history, many customers have also complained about their bad telecommunication services. The complaints were so rampant that the YouTube Channel The Infographics Show posted a parody video titled " You vs T-Mobile - Could You Defeat This Evil Cell Phone Carrier and Survive."
In summary, it would be better to reconsider using T-Mobile services. Or you can think of switching from T-Mobile to Verizon. While their mobile plans and promos remain relatively cheap, they do not have enough security measures to protect their customer data. To avoid being listed as a victim, do not register your information in their database.
