T-Mobile reported a data breach in 2021 that affected 47.8 million existing and former customers. Meanwhile, hackers have stolen the personal information of 7.8 million postpaid customers. According to recent reports, the carrier agreed to a settlement to resolve litigation.
According to CNET, current and former T-Mobile customers may be entitled to a portion of a $350 million payout intended to settle litigation related to the 2021 cyberattack that exposed the private data of millions of users. If you are one of the millions of T-Mobile customers whose accounts were compromised, you could be compensated soon if the settlement is approved.
As per reports, the T-Mobile settlement could be the second largest in US history after the Equifax cyberattack in 2017. Equifax, one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States, experienced a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of 143 million Americans.
Based on the 2017 data breach, hackers gained access to the names of over 100 million customers, as well as their Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and, in some cases, driver's license numbers.
T-Mobile Takes Full Responsibility
Forbes tells us that T-Mobile currently controls 38% of the US prepaid market. As part of the settlement of the class action lawsuit, T-Mobile agreed to spend an additional $150 million on cybersecurity through the end of 2023.
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According to the same report, in order to allocate funds to resolve issues related to this incident, the company must understand how its data breach continues to affect vulnerable communities.
In a proposed settlement statement, the data carrier stated, "Customers come first in everything we do, and protecting their information is a top priority." T-Mobile also stated that, while efforts to defend against attacks are ongoing, the company is not immune to the previously stated attacks.
T-Mobile also listed its course of action to stop further criminal attacks. One of these is setting up a Cybersecurity Transformation Office that answers directly to the CEO and expanding their online security team with more top talent who have decades of leadership and cyber strategy experience.
The carrier also mentioned conducting 900,000 training sessions for staff members and partners throughout the company to better understand their pivotal role in the prevention of data breaches, in addition to working with cybersecurity experts and carrying out plans to transform their cybersecurity program further.
More About the Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
The court still needs to approve the settlement, according to an Engadget report. If that happens, the company will "resolve substantially all of the claims brought by the company's current, former, and prospective customers impacted by the 2021 cyberattack" if that happens.
Settlement class members who submit a valid claim form approved by the settlement administrator within ninety days of the notice date may be eligible for settlement benefits. This is per the preliminary approval order.
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