This is what happens after a series of data breaches happen on your watch.
A succession of T-Mobile data breaches over the past three years that saw millions of customers’ data exposed has led to a $15.75M fine by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with the wireless carrier agreeing to spend the same amount again to upgrade its security.
The summer of 2021 saw a huge T-Mobile security breach, exposing the personal data of more than 100 million customers. This included sensitive data needed for identity theft, such as home address and date of birth. Another breach followed later the same year, along with others in 2022 and 2023.
T-Mobile admitted to a third breach in January of this year that impacted 137 million customers. A fourth breach in May of this year also led to social security numbers being compromised.
The FCC has announced that it reached a “groundbreaking” settlement with respect to three of these cases, and
The FCC reached what it calls a “groundbreaking” settlement with T-Mobile in respect of three of these cases and announced a data protection and cybersecurity settlement with T-Mobile to resolve the Enforcement Bureau’s investigations into significant data breaches that impacted millions of U.S. consumers.
T-Mobile has announced that it has agreed to important forward-looking commitments to address foundational security flaws, work to improve cyber hygiene and adopt robust modern architectures, like zero trust and phishing-resistant multi- factor authentication. As part of the settlement, the company will also pay a $15.75 million civil penalty to the U.S. Treasury.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.