T-Mobile Coughs Up $350-M To Pay Customers Affected By Data Breach

T-Mobile has agreed to pay $350 million to customers affected by a class action lawsuit launched after the company discovered last August that personal data such as social security numbers had been stolen in a cyberattack, Anne D'Innocienzo reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: T-Mobile, based in Bellevue, Washington, joined AT&T and Verizon as one of the country's top cellphone service carriers after acquiring rival Sprint in 2020.

The mobile phone operator stated in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Friday that the monies will be used to pay for class members' claims, the legal fees of plaintiffs' counsel, and the costs of managing the settlement.

It also stated that it would invest $150 million in data protection and other technology next year and in 2023.

According to T-Mobile, the settlement involves no acknowledgment of culpability, wrongdoing, or obligation on the part of any of the defendants. The business stated that it anticipates the terms of the settlement to be approved by the court as early as December 2022.

The breach affected over 80 million Americans. Other information compromised, in addition to Social Security numbers, includes names and information from driver's licenses or other forms of identification.

T-Mobile, based in Bellevue, Washington, joined AT&T and Verizon as one of the country's top cellphone service carriers after acquiring rival Sprint in 2020. Following the merger, it reported a total of 102.1 million US customers.

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