The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), part of the US Department of the Treasury, has announced (via Reuters) its largest ever penalty against T-Mobile in response to the network provider’s failure to prevent and report unauthorized access to sensitive data.
The $60 million fine concerns T-Mobile's violation of a mitigation agreement relating to its $23 billion acquisition of Sprint in 2020.
The multibillion-dollar fine was issued to penalize the company for technical issues that occurred in 2020 and 2021.
T-Mobile fined for technical issues four years ago
The fine doesn’t just relate to the occurrence of the technical issues, but also T-Mobile’s delay in reporting them, which the CFIUS says hindered its ability to address potential national security risks.
T-Mobile blamed the problems on its integration with the Sprint network. The company, majority-owned by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, emphasized that the technical problems only affected data shared from a small number of law enforcement information requests.
The network provider asserted that the issues were reported “in a timely manner” and resolved quickly.
However, the unprecedented size of the fine and the decision to share details publicly highlight the Committee’s emphasis on enforcement. The $60 million fine now serves as a stark warning to other companies about the importance of complying with regulations and obligations.
Moreover, the CFIUS has been increasing the pressure in recent years, issuing more penalties than previously.
T-Mobile told TechRadar Pro in an email:
"Several years ago, we experienced technical issues during our post-merger integration with Sprint that affected information shared from a small number of law enforcement information requests out of the hundreds of thousands that we process each year. This was not a breach, there was no intrusion and no bad actor was involved. The noted unauthorized access was that information was sent to the wrong law enforcement agency, but it never left the law enforcement ecosystem.
"We take matters like this seriously. We reported this in a timely manner, and the issue was quickly addressed. We are glad to have reached a resolution and look forward to continuing to work cooperatively with the law enforcement community to help keep the country and our customers safe."
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