Some personal data of the customers using the Google Fi service may have been stolen by hackers in a recent cyberattack, according to the American tech conglomerate Google. This was reported by The Verge, an American technology news website that reported that the cyberattack was likely to be in connection with a T-Mobile data breach earlier this month
In an email sent by Google to the customers using Google Fi it said that the cell network's primary network provider had become aware of suspicious activity in a system containing Google Fi customer data.Hackers may have gained access to some user data through the compromised system, including phone numbers, SIM card serial numbers, account status, and information on mobile service plans, according to Google.
The company doesn't specifically identify T-Mobile as its principal service provider in the email, despite the fact that Google Fi is an MVNO that primarily connects to the US Cellular and T-Mobile networks.
Names, email addresses, credit card information, government IDs, passwords, or pin numbers were among the types of personal information that were not stored in the system.
Google reassured customers that there is no need for Fi users to take any further action, and that there was no unauthorized access to Google's own systems or any systems overseen directly by Google.
As per The Verge, both the timing of the announcement and Google Fi's relationship with T-Mobile suggest that this breach directly links to a cyber-attack earlier this month that impacted 37 million T-Mobile customers. It was the eighth T-Mobile hack since 2018.
Earlier, U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said it was investigating a data breach that may have exposed 37 million postpaid and prepaid accounts, and hinted at incurring significant costs related to the incident.
It's the second major cyberattack in less than two years and comes months after the carrier agreed to upgrade its data security to settle a litigation related to a 2021 incident that compromised information of an estimated 76.6 million people.
The company identified malicious activity on Jan. 5 and contained it within a day, it said, adding no sensitive data such as financial information was exposed.
T-Mobile, however, added that basic customer data - such as name, billing address, email and phone number - was breached and that it had begun notifying impacted customers. The company has more than 110 million subscribers.
*With agency inputs
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