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T-Mobile Investigating Data Breach Involving 37 Million Accounts

T-Mobile, the third largest wireless carrier in the US, announced on January 14 that it was investigating a data breach involving 37 million postpaid and prepaid accounts.

T-Mobile logo
T-Mobile logo

The company stated that malicious activity was identified on January 5 and contained within a day and that no sensitive data, such as financial information, was compromised. However, basic customer data was obtained, including name, billing address, email, and phone number. T-Mobile has begun notifying impacted customers.

T-Mobile's Data Breach Contained, But FCC Investigation Opened

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened an investigation into T-Mobile's data breach. T-Mobile and the FCC did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the reported investigation.

Neil Mack, a senior analyst for Moody's Investors Service, said, "while these cybersecurity breaches may not be systemic in nature, their frequency of occurrence at T-Mobile is an alarming outlier relative to telecom peers."

T-Mobile store
T-Mobile store

T-Mobile's Data Breach Could Negatively Impact Customer Behavior

Moody's Investors Service's Neil Mack said that the data breach at T-Mobile could negatively impact customer behavior, cause churn to spike, and potentially attract the scrutiny of the FCC and other regulators.

T-Mobile agreed to pay $350 million and spend an additional $150 million to upgrade data security to settle litigation over a cyberattack in 2021 that compromised information belonging to an estimated 76.6 million people. T-Mobile's shares fell 2% in after-hours trade.

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