September 30, 2024 at 03:23PM
The FCC settled with T-Mobile for $31.5 million over data breaches compromising millions of U.S. consumers’ personal information. T-Mobile is required to invest $15.75 million in cybersecurity, pay a civil penalty, and implement enhanced security measures. The FCC emphasizes the importance of strong cybersecurity protections for consumer data and has fined multiple telecom carriers for data privacy violations.
Meeting Notes Summary:
– The FCC reached a $31.5 million settlement with T-Mobile over multiple data breaches impacting millions of U.S. consumers, resolving investigations into cybersecurity incidents.
– T-Mobile must invest $15.75 million in cybersecurity enhancements and pay a $15.75 million civil penalty to the U.S. Treasury as part of the settlement.
– The company committed to implementing robust security measures, including modern cybersecurity frameworks such as zero-trust architecture and multi-factor authentication.
– T-Mobile agreed to enhance privacy, data security, and cybersecurity practices by addressing foundational security flaws, improving cyber hygiene, and adopting modern architectures.
– The FCC’s Privacy and Data Protection Task Force, established in 2023, played a central role in the investigation and settlement, similar to its involvement in settlements with AT&T and Verizon’s subsidiary TracFone Wireless.
– The FCC also fined major U.S. wireless carriers almost $200 million in April 2024 for sharing customers’ real-time location data without consent and updated its data breach reporting rules in February.