Washington Sues T-Mobile for 2021 Data Breach

The state of Washington is suing T-Mobile for a 2021 data breach that exposed the personal information of 79 million individuals, including over 2 million residents of Washington. The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Bob Ferguson, alleges T-Mobile failed to follow industry-standard cybersecurity practices, ignored known vulnerabilities, and inadequately notified affected customers. The breach, which began in March 2021, was not discovered until August when customer data appeared for sale on the dark web. Exposed data included Social Security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, and driver's licenses. Ferguson claims the breach was entirely avoidable and seeks financial damages while demanding improved cybersecurity measures from T-Mobile. The company has faced multiple data breaches in recent years, raising concerns about its accountability and data protection commitments.