Tmobile breach full#

In an age where data exists everywhere and there are untold numbers of ways to access that data, security has a tough job. After collecting the data, the hacker can then opt to sell the stolen data (as happened with stolen T-Mobile data in 2021) or use that for future targeted attacks. They likely limited the amount of data being returned over a given time period in an attempt to stay below radar for longer.ģ. The hacker writes a basic script to pull information from T-Mobile’s systems. The hacker discovers the API that provides customer information without requiring a password.Ģ. It’s quite easy for the hacker to accomplish this with a bit of luck. Plan information including phone lines and plan features The attacker started collecting T-Mobile customer information on Novemand continued to pull data until T-Mobile discovered the data breach on January 5, 2023. It provides an agreed upon methodology to exchange information. An API is a mechanism for two systems to talk with each other.

Here's how:Ī hacker used an open Application Programming Interface (API) to access the data on 37M T-Mobile customers. T-Mobile’s latest data breach of 37 million customers shows a hacker can just look through an open window and ask nicely for data. T-Mobile also mentions the FTC’s support page on identity theft.Not all data breaches require a hacker breaking into a company’s network. If you are alerted by T-Mobile that you were one of the 836, the carrier recommends reviewing your account information and changing your PIN (even though it already changed them for affected customers). A data breach filing with the state of Maine revealed that 836 customers were impacted, but T-Mobile nor the filing have shared how the threat actor compromised the company’s systems. T-Mobile didn’t respond to a request for comment from Bleeping Computer.

Tmobile breach full#

The information obtained for each customer varied, but may have included full name, contact information, account number and associated phone numbers, T-Mobile account PIN, social security number, government ID, date of birth, balance due, internal codes that T-Mobile uses to service customer accounts (for example, rate plan and feature codes), and the number of lines.īecause of the heightened risk of identity theft for these customers, T-Mobile is giving two years of credit monitoring and identity theft detection – details on enrolling are included in the letter sent to those affected. While T-Mobile starts out by confirming financial account information and call records were not stolen, very sensitive information like T-Mobile PINs, social security numbers, birth dates, full names, contact information, and more was part of the compromised data for the small group of users. T-Mobile today confirmed that some of its data had been accessed without authorization in a breach that may impact more than 100 million of its users. We apologize that this happened and are furthering efforts to enhance security of your information. While we have a number of safeguards in place to prevent unauthorized access such as this from happening, we recognize that we must continue to make improvements to stay ahead of bad actors. To further protect your account, we have already proactively reset your PIN. Our systems and policies enabled T-Mobile teams to identify the activity, terminate it, and implement measures to protect against it from occurring again in the future. Personal financial account information and call records were NOT affected. Our systems recently detected that a bad actor accessed limited information from a small number of T-Mobile accounts, including your T-Mobile account PIN. Spotted by Bleeping Computer (via The Verge), T-Mobile started sending letters to impacted customers on April 28 about the latest breach which happened between February and March. The good(ish) news is this time it’s believed to only have affected 836 users but the bad news is the malicious party was able to steal sensitive info like social security numbers, full names, birth dates, contact information, T-Mobile account PINs, and more. Now the company has shared that it has seen another incident. In January, T-Mobile revealed it was hit by a data breach that impacted 37 million customers.