Last week, we published a blog around a major topic in cybersecurity. This blog explored the recent T-Mobile data breach. It was reported that 100 million customers could have had their data compromised. This week, T-Mobile revealed exactly how many people were affected.  

In case you missed it:

Early last week, anonymous hackers posted that they had stolen the personal information of 100 million T-Mobile users. Their plan was to sell the information from 30 million accounts in one lump sum in exchange for 6 bitcoins. The rest were to be sold privately. At the time, T-Mobile was yet to confirm this but was reportedly looking into it.  To get the whole scoop, check out last week’s blog here.

What really happened?

T-Mobile says that there was in fact a breach, just not as large of a breach as was reported. 47 million people were affected by this breach. Though it is only half of the original number, this is still a massive data breach. While no financial information was compromised, names, social security numbers, and driver’s license numbers were stolen.  

Who was affected?

You may think you are safe if you aren’t an active T-Mobile member. You would be wrong. Only 7 million of the 47 million accounts breached belong to active T-Mobile subscribers. The other 40 million are past or potential customers of T-Mobile. This means that your data could have been stolen even if you were a prospective customer or applied for credit from T-Mobile.  

What happens next?

T-Mobile is recommending that all users change their pin numbers to improve account security. They are also offering 2 years of free identity protection services from McAfee.  

This is exactly what we, at Aspis Consulting, try to prevent. Data breaches can happen to anyone, and we want to make sure you are covered. While Aspis Consulting has offices in Kansas City, Duluth, and Washington D.C., we can help you anywhere! Our cybersecurity services can be utilized around the country. If you would like more information, check out our website or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram,