08/19/2021
Good Morning, STG! Followers.
So -- this is new as of this week. As of today, a lot of the details around T-Mobile's latest breach are still coming out.
BUT, there are some helpful things you can do in the meantime! Some of these tips are applicable to the specific breach, and others are just good personal policy for keeping your data secure.
1. Get a password manager. Yeah, we know -- passwords are the eternally difficult issue for a ton of users, but with a password manager (1Password, BitWarden, etc), it becomes a lot easier to set secure passwords (30+ characters w/ randomized letters, numbers, and punctuation), and not have to remember them! Once you get that password manager, CHANGE ALL OF YOUR PASSWORDS + EACH ONE SHOULD BE UNIQUE!
2. Change your T-Mobile account PIN. For T-Mobile customers, the PIN can be 15 numbers max, so HIT THAT CEILING. Oh, and you can put it into your password manager, conveniently enough!
3. Turn on Two-Factor Authentication. In cooperation with an authenticator like Google Authenticator, it adds a vital double-check on any logins you use.
4. Get identity theft protection. In a lot of cases, this is available through your insurance provider, and/or your employer. Take advantage of it to gain a third layer of protection against bad parties seeking to open accounts in your name.
5. And, as usual, STAY VIGILANT. In the coming weeks, T-Mobile will be rolling out more details of the information that was compromised in this breach; staying vigilant means keeping an eye out for communication from T-Mobile, and following up on any and all steps for account protection you can take.
The company said that stolen files included the personal information of 7.8 million current customers and 40 million people who had applied for credit.
