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Carrier investigates unauthorized access to user data, urging vigilance among subscribers following the incident.
Canada’s number four wireless carrier, Freedom Mobile, has disclosed a data breach of its customer account management system. A breach occurred when hackers gained unauthorized access to personal data belonging to an undetermined number of Freedom’s customers.
Established in 2008 as Wind Mobile by Globalive Telecommunications, Freedom Mobile has approximately 2.2 million active customers, and the company claims to cover approximately 99% of Canada with wireless service. In May of 2019, Vidéotron (a subsidiary of Québecor), acquired Freedom Mobile, resulting in a market-leading telecommunications company in Canada, with combined subscriber totals of greater than 3.5 million and over 7,500 employees.
Regarding the data breach, Freedom Mobile confirmed in a notice that another entity was able to access customer information through an account of one of its subcontractors. According to Freedom Mobile: “We promptly conducted an investigation into this data breach, and we took immediate action to implement remediation and security enhancements,” including blocking the accessed accounts and securing the associated IP addresses.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) exposed consisted of Full Name, Home Address, Date of Birth, Home and Cell Phone Number, and Freedom Mobile Account Number. Although there was no evidence to suggest that the exposed accounts have been misappropriated, consumers are being asked to stay aware and cautious regarding unsolicited communications requesting Personal Information.
This breach followed a May 2019 incident where Freedom Mobile announced that they had exposed customer data due to an unsecured database used by their customer service that affected approximately 15,000 customers. The recent breach raises serious concerns about consumer data security and presents a potential challenge as Carrier attempts to rebuild trust with its subscribers.
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