Global: FCC orders two US telecom operators to pay $3.5 million for data breach

Follow Us

Two sister mobile telecom operators of US, named TerraCom and YourTel America are fined for US$3.5 million for storing personal data of subscribers on unprotected servers. The service providers were storing data of more than 300,000 customers, including their names, addresses, Social Security Numbers and Drivers’ licenses, and these were accessible over the internet.

mobile-in




The issue was first noticed by an investigative journalist in 2013, who found the operators’ subscriber data online. He could access more than 128,000 customer data online, including the documents submitted by the customers for Lifeline service, a telecom service in US that provides telecom subsidies to low-income subscribers. On contacting the company, the reporter was blamed for interfering in the matter as ‘data breach’. Later, the companies were sued for penalty.

U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc said that the companies have breached the trust of the subscribers. “Consumers rightly expect that companies will take every reasonable precaution to protect their personal information,” he said. “They failed to take reasonable measures to protect sensitive customer information from unauthorized access by anyone with a search engine,” he added.

In addition to the penalty of US$3.5 million, companies are directed to inform the subscribers whose data was subject to unauthorized access and provide complimentary credit monitoring services. The companies have also agreed to take security measures.

Reported By

Reporter

An astute writer with a track record in writing and publishing content for various industries, Ria brings on board her wealth of experience in journalism and love for technology to TelecomTalk. When not writing or reading, she spends a copious amount of time daydreaming and finding obscure Japanese folklore on the internet.

Recent Comments

Anonymous :

In line with Airtel's ?49 plan that offers 20GB of data for the same duration.

Jio Brings New Rs 49 Plan

Faraz :

Yes.. Corruption and arrogance is in the core of this organisation since beginning.. & Now even gov wants everything to…

BSNL's Operating Profits Signal a Positve Future

Mrs Mithilesh :

BSNL DoT aur ITS ka gulam hai, BSNL ke executives aur staff ki halat gulamo aur kutto se bhi battar…

BSNL's Operating Profits Signal a Positve Future

TheAndroidFreak :

Till BSNL doesn't make 5Mhz of band 1/28/8 live across country, it doesn't make sense. Vi is far better operator…

Vodafone Idea Tests Vi AirFiber with Multiple Partners

Faraz :

In my experience. Airtel 4G went down to 20-30 Mbps where it used to 50-70 Mbps on b3+b40 CA. Jio…

5G Users Consuming 3.6 Times More Data than 4G Users…

Load More
Subscribe
Notify of
1 Comment
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments