Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

T-Mobile confirms hack, investigates whether customer data was stolen

By

T-Mobile has confirmed that its computer systems were accessed without permission and says it’s now conducting an investigation to determine the full extent of the hack.

The announcement follows claims on Sunday, August 15, that a hacker was in possession of data belonging to 100 million T-Mobile customers and was trying to sell it via an underground forum.

Recommended Videos

T-Mobile said that at this stage it could only confirm that “unauthorized access to some T-Mobile data” had taken place, adding that it had not yet determined if any customer data is involved.

Related

The company, which last year merged with Sprint in a deal worth $26 billion, said that it had closed the entry point used by the perpetrator to gain access to its systems and is trying to work out how many customers, if any, have been impacted by the incident.

The company added that it is “working around the clock” to investigate the data breach, and is coordinating its efforts with law enforcement.

The incident came to light on Sunday, when a post was spotted on an underground forum offering customer data linked to 100 million people. After being contacted by news site Motherboard, the seller claimed the data belonged to T-Mobile customers.

The data, a sample of which was viewed by Motherboard, includes names, Social Security numbers, phone numbers, home addresses, driver license information, and unique International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers.

Those behind the hack are trying to sell the data in blocks containing information linked to tens of millions of people — possibly T-Mobile customers though not yet confirmed — with 6 bitcoin (currently worth about $285,000) sought for each block.

The breach is another in a string of similar incidents that have hit T-Mobile, though this latest one could turn out to be the most serious.

At the start of this year the company confirmed unauthorized access to information linked to up to 200,000 of its customers. In another incident, in 2019, around 1 million T-Mobile customers were caught up in another data breach, and a year earlier around 2 million customers may have had their personal details stolen by hackers.

In its message posted on Monday, T-Mobile said that once it has a more complete picture of what took place, it will update customers directly.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
T-Mobile crushed its rivals in this important test
A person playing a game on the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro.

In the U.S., the top carriers don't offer the same network performance. One carrier has significantly outperformed the others over the past six months, according to data collected in network and connectivity expert Ookla's latest "Speedtest Connectivity Report." The report, which covers data collected between July and December 2024, found that T-Mobile, the third-largest carrier in the U.S., has emerged as the clear leader in overall performance. The differences are striking.

Ookla reports that T-Mobile provides media download speeds 120% faster than its closest competitor, AT&T. Verizon, the largest carrier by subscriber count, ranked third. These speeds are enough for Ookla to conclude that T-Mobile offers the best mobile gaming experience.

Read more
Verizon and AT&T confirm cyberattacks, assure networks are in clear
A robot standing a wall with an AT&T branding.

In the wake of cyberattacks by cyber-intrusion groups, both AT&T and Verizon have confirmed that their systems have now recovered and are operating safely. In separate press notes attributed to Reuters and Bloomberg, both major telecom operators cleared that they worked with law enforcement authorities to mitigate the harm from state-linked threats tied to espionage activities

As per the U.S. government, at least nine telecom labels have come under attacks from Salt Typhoon, a Chinese-linked cyberespionage operation. So far, the true extent of the attack on the two aforementioned carriers has not been made public knowledge, but it seems the threat was targeted.

Read more
T-Mobile’s long-awaited satellite service is finally ready for testing
Texting over T-Mobile direct-to-cell satellite network on a phone.

T-Mobile pledged to “end mobile dead zones” all the way back in 2022, thanks to a deal with SpaceX that would entail using Starlink satellites to enable communication across the entirety of the country. In September this year, the carrier successfully relayed a satellite-driven emergency alert to assess the service.

Now, T-Mobile seems ready for real testing.

Read more