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January 12, 2005 6:15 PM PST

T-Mobile: Hacker had limited access

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Wireless carrier T-Mobile acknowledges that an online attacker gained access to its network but denies reports that the criminal had the run of its network or broadly threatened its customers' privacy.

The mobile phone provider said Wednesday that it discovered the breach in late 2003 and immediately took steps to lock out the intruder. A subsequent investigation found that the unidentified person had accessed the name and Social Security numbers of 400 T-Mobile customers. The customers were notified in writing of the incident, the company said.

"We immediately notified the United States Secret Service and asked it to investigate this incident and to find the hacker," T-Mobile said in the statement provided to CNET News.com.

The incident, first reported by online security information site SecurityFocus, came to light after 21-year-old Nicolas Jacobsen was charged with the crime. A grand jury indictment charges Jacobsen with two counts of violating the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, but does not name the victim.

However, T-Mobile's statement leaves questions. While the mobile-phone service claimed to have locked out the intruder in late 2003, the indictment states that the network trespass for which Jacobsen is being charged happened between March 15, 2004, and Oct. 26, 2004.

The SecurityFocus report also points to several pictures that have appeared on the Internet, which apparently were stolen from the accounts of celebrities.

T-Mobile did not immediately comment on the discrepancies, but in its statement it hinted that its network may have fallen prey to the same hacker.

"This same person is also believed to be involved in other attempts to gain unauthorized access to customer information," the company said. "The Secret Service is investigating these allegations, and T-Mobile is cooperating to the fullest extent, including with regard to the allegations that customer photos have been subject to unauthorized access."

See more CNET content tagged:
T-Mobile, SecurityFocus, hacker, wireless carrier, incident

Add a Comment (Log in or register) (5 Comments)
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T-moblie
by January 19, 2005 11:16 AM PST
T-Mobile is a majority owned by the Germans. T-Mobile was one of the first Foreign company that was able to own a majority control in a FCC license. Until then it was a law that Foreigners could not own FCC license.

I understand the hacker was able to view Government emails about the Fed investigation into the hacker. May be they should have left the law as it was.

I wonder how the hacker intruded into T-mobile network, wireless or wired.
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Fed investigation
by Al Johnsons June 3, 2007 11:46 AM PDT
http://www.analogstereo.com/rover_owners_manual.htm
T-moblie
by January 19, 2005 11:16 AM PST
T-Mobile is a majority owned by the Germans. T-Mobile was one of the first Foreign company that was able to own a majority control in a FCC license. Until then it was a law that Foreigners could not own FCC license.

I understand the hacker was able to view Government emails about the Fed investigation into the hacker. May be they should have left the law as it was.

I wonder how the hacker intruded into T-mobile network, wireless or wired.
Reply to this comment
Fed investigation
by Al Johnsons June 3, 2007 11:46 AM PDT
http://www.analogstereo.com/rover_owners_manual.htm
by stevenlovesparis July 19, 2009 9:40 PM PDT
paris is a trip ..i love her to death ...i miss her show with nicole ritchie ...simple life....im her number one fan ..i love the grls forever ...i know they had a fight lately ..and been mad at eachother ..but they do love eachother ....it was funny when paris said jail food is gross lol that was cute ..lol i love it when she said whats walmart ..is that where they sell wallstuff there ,,,nicole says its like cosco or savon ..lol gotta love the grls from steve in southern ca
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