90GB of Data Posted on Hacker Forum Linked to T-Mobile Glitch

Another day, another data security incident at T-Mobile – Because why not! A cybersecurity year without a T-Mobile security incident is a rare occurrence.

• T-Mobile US Inc. suffered a data breach, causing the exposure of users billing data.

• The company claims the breach was caused by a ‘temporary system glitch” and not a security breach.

• However, a database was posted on a hacker forum and the hacker stated that the data was stolen in a previous breach.

• When examined, the database contained records worth 90GB of data.

• The telecom firm has experienced a third data breach within a year.

The world’s leading telecom giant, T-Mobile USA, is in the news for a mistakenly conducted technology update that exposed the private information of some of its customers to other users.

The glitch was confirmed by many users who took to social media, informing the company that they were shown billing details (including credit card details, purchase history, current credit balance, and home address) of other customers instead of their own when they signed into their T-Mobile accounts.

Reportedly, this incident lasted for over three hours. T-Mobile confirmed that the issue occurred, claiming a faulty update caused it. The company also confirmed that a data breach or cyberattack didn’t cause it.

T-Mobile’s rep stated that a temporary system glitch happened while carrying out an already planned technology update, which involved limited account details of less than 100 customers. Moreover, the company claims that the issue was quickly resolved.

However, threat actors have posted a database on a hacker forum claiming that the information belonged to T-Mobile customers. As per their post, having the caption “T-Mobile, Connectivity Source,” the database contained data stolen from T-Mobile in April 2023.

Screenshot from the hacker forum where the alleged T-Mobile data has been leaked (Credit: Hackread.com)

It comprised private information such as email addresses, partial Social Security numbers, customer data, and the company’s sales and analytics data, etc., belonging to T-Mobile. For your information, the connectivity source refers to authorized retailers of T-Mobile offering services via T-Mobile branded stores.

Security experts who have examined the data assert that the post seems legitimate and claim that the database is gigantic, having 90GB worth of data.

T-Mobile, which Deutsche Telekom owns, has had a rocky year so far because the company has repeatedly become a target of data breaches in the past 12 months. Back in August 2021, the company lost data of 49 million T-Mobile account holders, whereas the hackers claimed they stole data of 100 million users.

T-Mobile has experienced at least five reported data breaches (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) between 2015 and 2021, making it safe to say that a cybersecurity year without a T-Mobile security incident is a rare occurrence.