The communication giant has recently reported a data breach incident to the Attorney General. As revealed, UScellular suffered a data breach after experiencing a hacking attack on its billing systems towards the end of 2021.
UScellular Data Breach
According to the details shared in the breach notification letter, UScellular suffered a breach of users’ personal data in December 2021. The firm discovered the incident after detecting unauthorized access to their billing systems that dealt with customers’ information.
The firm further shared that the attackers even tried to exploit the accessed information to fraudulently port numbers.
As per the investigations, the incident happened between December 13 and 19, 2021.
Regarding the breached information, the letter reads,
Information in customer accounts include name, address, PIN code and cellular telephone number(s) as well as information about wireless services including service plan, usage and billing statements. Sensitive personal information, such as Social Security number and credit card information, is masked within the CRM system.
Following this incident, UScellular pulled the affected computer offline and requested immediate shutdown of the attackers’ websites. Plus, they also reset passwords of their staff and customers’ PIN and security questions.
Also, they have informed the law enforcement authorities about the matter.
We take this incident very seriously and have reported the incident to law enforcement in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Communications Commission as well as certain state agencies.
It presently remains unclear how the attackers managed to infiltrate their systems. But what they have shared now reveals that the incident affected roughly 405 customers. Among these, three customers even had their numbers fraudulently ported. But UScellular swiftly addressed and fixed the matter.
For now, the firm encourages all customers to reset their security questions/answers and PIN numbers.
UScellular is an American telecommunication company that currently lists as the fifth-largest service provider serving more than 4.9 million customers.