T-Mobile hit with yet another fine over data breaches

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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined the operator $31.5 million following a series of data breaches over the past four years

This week, US mobile giant T-Mobile has agreed to pay $31.5 million a part of a settlement with the FCC related to multiple cybersecurity failures.

The settlement comprises a $15.75 million civil fine and a pledge to invest an equal amount to bolster their cybersecurity capabilities.

In its statement, the FCC told T-Mobile to “work to improve cyber hygiene, and adopt robust modern architectures, like zero trust and phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication”.

The fines relate to data breaches which took place between 2021 and 2023 and affected “millions of current, former, and prospective customers” of both T-Mobile and its mobile virtual network operator partners.

According to the FCC’s statement, customer data accessed in these incidents included “PI (Proprietary Information, such as customers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license numbers) and CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information, such as the features customers subscribed to and the number of lines their accounts)”.

“Today’s mobile networks are top targets for cybercriminals,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement. “Consumers’ data is too important and much too sensitive to receive anything less than the best cybersecurity protections.”

T-Mobile is becoming worryingly familiar with fines related to poor cybersecurity, having been fined $60 million by the  Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. back in August.

The company was also fined $80 million by the FCC in April for illegally sharing access to consumers’ location data without obtaining their consent. AT&T and Verizon were also fined in the settlement, with the total fines reaching $200 million.

How is the US connectivity landscape shifting in 2024? Join the operators and their communities in discussion at Broadband Communities Summit West live in San Diego

Also in the news:
Vodafone and Three defend merger amid CMA warnings
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