T-Mobile Reaches $500 Million Settlement in Massive Data Breach in 2021
T-Mobile has agreed to a settlement totaling $500 million in a class-action lawsuit brought by customers after the company disclosed in August that sensitive data had been breached in a cyber attack.
In a court filing late Friday, the cellphone giant said it would pay $350 million to settle customers’ claims and spend $150 million over the next few years to strengthen its cybersecurity protections and technologies.
The breach affected 76.6 million people in the US, according to the company. It exposed highly sensitive data, including customers’ first and last names, social security numbers and driver̵[ads1]7;s license information.
It was not clear how much individual T-Mobile customers would receive from the settlement, although the proposed agreement, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri, stipulates that individual payments cannot exceed $2,500.
At the time of the breach, T-Mobile said the compromised files included checking accounts as well as the records of people who had applied for credit with the company.
In the filing on Friday, lawyers for T-Mobile said the settlement agreement did not mean the company admitted any wrongdoing. The breach was one of many that have occurred in the technology, banking and retail industries in recent years.
The company said in a statement: “As we continue to invest time, energy and resources in tackling this challenge, we are pleased to have resolved this consumer class action lawsuit.”
