T-Mobile prevented a data breach before it happened [Update]

[Updated to include T-Mobile’s response]

In recent years, T-Mobile has been one of the carriers hardest hit by hacking or data breach incidents. These hacks have surely caused concern among its customers. However, it seems that the company has notably improved its security practices and protocols. According to a recent report, T-Mobile managed to prevent a recent data breach attempt.

Currently, American mobile carriers are in the middle of a chain of alleged attacks from China. According to the FBI, the hacker groups have targeted the country’s telecommunications infrastructure. The background suggests an ongoing campaign of constant breach attempts that seek to obtain key data related to national security or prominent political figures.

T-Mobile may have prevented a data breach by detecting suspicious activity early

That said, in the midst of this situation, T-Mobile could be the one that is doing the best. According to Bloomberg, the mobile carrier anticipated a planned attack by detecting early signs of suspicious activity within its infrastructure. While the alleged attackers had access to a “limited number of devices,” they did not reach the deeper layers where the data is available. Basically, the hackers were only able to perform “reconnaissance activity” before being expelled from the infrastructure, according to the report.

In this case, there are no details about the origin of this alleged hacking attempt. According to T-Mobile, this is part of the same issue reported before. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal added T-Mobile to the list of carriers allegedly affected by the campaign, along with AT&T and Verizon.

The closeness of the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reports suggests that the two incidents could be the same. However, in the absence of more specific details, we can only speculate. Still, it’s a good thing that T-Mobile is finally getting serious about securing its customers’ data, which is key in today’s tech industry. Perhaps the FCC’s warnings and fines for previous data breaches played a role in this.

T-Mobile has issued an official statement with regard to this story as it is linked to the one from November 16:

T-Mobile is closely monitoring this industry-wide attack. Due to our security controls, network structure, and diligent monitoring and response, we have seen no significant impacts to T-Mobile systems or data. We have no evidence of access or exfiltration of any customer or other sensitive information as other companies may have experienced. We will continue to monitor this closely, working with industry peers and the relevant authorities.