If I had a £1/$1 every time a company was hacked and private details of consumers were leaked to a third-party, I would be now looking at a brochure for mansions. The latest victim is mobile communications company T-Mobile, who have fallen victim to a data breach.
An estimated 15 million T-Mobile customer records have been stolen after hackers attacked Experian, who are the company responsible for processing credit applications from consumers for the mobile company. Below are the details that Experian believe have been stolen from consumers in the hack, this includes “access to a server that contained personal information for consumers who applied for T-Mobile USA postpaid services between Sept. 1, 2013 and Sept. 16, 2015.
- Name
- Address
- Social Security Number
- Date Of Birth
- Drivers licence
- Passport Number
- Military ID Number
- Any Other T-Mobile Credit assessment details
According to Experian, there were no “Payment Card or Banking Information” obtained during the discovery of the breach on the 15th September 2015. Over at T-Mobile, CEO John Legere stated that he was “incredibly angry about this data breach and T – Mobile will institute a thorough review of our relationship with Experian, but right now my top concern and first focus is assisting any and all consumers affected. I take our customer and prospective customer privacy VERY seriously”.
In these situations a consumer can feel powerless, no matter how careful they are at their end, they may still find personal and very sensitive details leaked to a third-party. Companies need to fully prioritize and secure customers data, otherwise there will be many more instances of this nature which will be just around the corner. If Hollywood ever attempted to produce a film concerning the many breaches, it would have a plot akin to Groundhog day.
Thank you experian and t-mobile and nextweb for providing us with this information.
Original Image courtesy of droid
