What you need to know
- T-Mobile notified customers of a data breach it detected and quashed recently.
- A malicious third-party was able to gain access to some T-Mobile employee email accounts as well as customer account information.
- The accessed data includes names and addresses but not financial information like credit cards.
U.S. carrier T-Mobile this week reported being the victim of a cyberattack that resulted in both customer and employee data being accessed by a third party.
T-Mobile explained the situation in a notification to customers , saying:
Our Cybersecurity team recently identified and shut down a malicious attack against our email vendor that led to unauthorized access to certain T-Mobile employee email accounts, some of which contained account information for T-Mobile customers and employees. An investigation was immediately commenced, with assistance from leading cybersecurity forensics experts, to determine what happened and what information was affected. We immediately reported this matter to federal law enforcement and are actively cooperating in their investigation.The information accessed may have included customer names and addresses, phone numbers, account numbers, rate plans, and features, and billing information. Your financial information (including credit card information) and Social Security number were not impacted.
T-Mobile says that none of the information has, at this point, been used to commit fraud or misused in any way, though it advises users to review their accounts and update their passwords just to be safe. It also noted that some customers might not receive notifications due to outdated contact iformation and advises them to reach out if they believe they may have been affected by the breach, how the customer is meant to divine that nugget of information is not exactly clear.
Affected customers are also being offered a free two year subscription to an online credit monitoring service if they sign up between now and May 31, 2020. The silver lining they didn't know they were looking for.
