A hacker group has claimed to have hacked T-Mobile this past weekend and is apparently looking to cash in. Oh this world we live in, right? (Editor’s Note: Be sure to read the update from T-Mobile at the end of the article)
As a T-Mobile customer, I assure you this isn’t exactly the brightest part of my morning. I was just doing a quick (Bing) search on T-Mobile this morning to see if there was any news about a release date on the new Google Phone… and this is what I get.
Not only is there still not a peep about the phone I’m obsessing over looking for, it seems as though I now get to wonder about the security of my data. Of course anytime you hear about a company you do business with ‘losing’ their data, you have to wonder how and if it will come back to haunt you in some aspect.
If a company loses your data, do you leave them for a competitor? Sound off in the comments.
As of the posting of this article, I have yet to see a peep from T-Mobile in the way of a comment about how extensive the loss is or what level of risk it represents to the customer base. The hacker guys, however, make the following claim “T-Mobile has been owned for some time. We have everything, their databases, confidential documents, scripts and programs from their servers, financial documents up to 2009.”
Believe it or not, that quote is also apparently part of their sales pitch. These guys are actively seeking buyers for the T-Mobile haul. Having “already contacted with their (T-Mobile’s) competitors and they didn’t show interest in buying their data -probably because the mails got to the wrong people- so now we are offering them for the highest bidder.”
So, there’s that. I guess I should be glad the new myTouch 3G Google phone didn’t come out last week. If this goes badly, I may have to learn to fall in love with an iPhone or a Pre. I will be very displeased if I have to deal with any headaches that T-Mobile may have created for me out of their inattention to security. Very displeased indeed.
UPDATE:
Shortly, after we went live with this, I was contacted by T-Mobile reps with the following statement:
“Following a recent online posting that someone allegedly accessed T-Mobile servers, the company is conducting a thorough investigation and at this time has found no evidence that customer information, or other company information, has been compromised. Reports to the contrary are inaccurate and should be corrected. T-Mobile continues to monitor this situation and as a precaution has taken additional measures to further ensure our customers’ information and our systems are protected. As is our standard practice, customers can be assured if there is any evidence that customer or system information has been compromised, we would inform those affected as quickly as possible.”
Bottom line:
- No hack or breach of security.
- Information in the document that was somehow obtained, is legitimate T-Mobile info, but it is not customer information
- Investigation continues into how the document was obtained.
So, there you have it. T-Mobile says we’re all cool. Good to know and I am extremely relieved. Now, I don’t have to stop obsessing about looking forward to the myTouch 3G. 😉
