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Google has sent out emails to customers of its Google Fi mobile data network informing them that some of their data have been compromised, most likely as part of last year’s T-Mobile data breach.
The letters make no mention of T-Mobile specifically, but Google only has three partners for its service — T-Mobile, Three, and US Cellular — and only one of them recently had a hacker access the details of 37 million customers.
“We’re writing to let you know that the primary network provider for Google Fi recently informed us there has been suspicious activity relating to a third-party system that contains a limited amount of Google Fi customer data,” is all the letter said in reference to where the data was exposed.
It does go on to assure customers that the exposed data was limited, however. Only details of service plans, SIM card numbers, and account status were exposed. While the original breach saw names and addresses, dates of birth, and emails leaked, that does not seem to be the case for Google Fi customers.
No Google systems were compromised, and the company is working with the “network provider” to improve the security of its systems.
Google also notes in the letter that the data breach has not affected the Google Fi service.
The original T-Mobile breach took place in November of last year and was revealed in an SEC report this month.
“Our investigation is still ongoing, but the malicious activity appears to be fully contained at this time, and there is currently no evidence that the bad actor was able to breach or compromise our systems or our network,” T-Mobile said in the 19 January filing. Despite the breach being relatively benign — no credit card details or government IDs were exposed — T-Mobile is aware the incident will likely be costly.
“We may incur significant expenses in connection with this incident,” the filing noted.
Google Fi is only available in the US.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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