A U.S. senator is demanding answers from Trump Mobile, the cell phone company founded by President Donald Trump’s sons Eric and Don Jr., after Straight Arrow revealed this week that hackers had stolen customer data.
In a letter on Thursday, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., called on Trump Mobile CEO Patrick O’Brien to answer numerous questions regarding “the extent to which Trump Mobile and its partners prevent scammers from abusing cellular services and adequately serve customers following a series of delays, a recent price hike, and multiple reported cyber breaches involving the unauthorized access and release of sensitive customer data.”
“The Trump family is profiting off of this venture through a trademark and name licensing deal with Trump Mobile,” Hassan wrote. “Deals like these are the ‘Trump Organization’s bread-and-butter business,’ as one publication described. Yet unlike Trump-branded vodka and steaks, for example, Trump Mobile operates in an especially sensitive and high-stakes sector.”
Straight Arrow reported Monday that the personal information for 3,615 Trump Mobile customers was exposed after a ransomware group known as BYOD obtained the data. The data — posted on BYOD’s dark web site — included full names, email addresses, telephone numbers, home addresses and details on orders.
The hacked data included information related to prominent figures such as O’Brien and Eric Brunnett, vice president and chief information officer for the Trump Organization. No Trump family members appear to use the company’s service, which offers a mobile plan and a flagship phone.
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Hack affected Trump employees
Citing Straight Arrow’s reporting, Hassan wrote that, as of Monday, the hackers still appeared to have access to Trump Mobile’s backend dashboard, which employees use to access sensitive customer data.
“The news outlet confirmed the accuracy of the leaked data with several customers whose information had been exposed. Its review of leaked data further revealed that several of the impacted customers were also employees of the Trump Organization, including the company’s vice president and chief information officer.”
Sen. Maggie Hassan
Trump Mobile executives did not respond this week to emails from Straight Arrow. A phone call Friday to O’Brien, whose cell number appeared in the exposed data, also went unanswered.
The breach came less than five months after a cybersecurity researcher found that the Trump Mobile website was leaking the very same customer information that would later be hacked. A representative for Trump Mobile blamed a third-party company for the initial leak back in May but has not commented on the recent breach.
Hassan has asked O’Brien to answer whether Trump Mobile has informed the FCC, the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and its customers about the breach.
Other controversies
The letter touches on other issues as well, such as Trump Mobile’s reported failure to obtain the necessary authorizations that would permit its service to provide international calling. The company is also accused of not submitting all required information about its efforts to fight robocalls.
Trump Mobile has faced numerous controversies since its launch in June of last year, ranging from price increases for its phone to the removal of promotional language that guaranteed the devices would be made in the U.S.
Hassan gave O’Brien until Oct. 29 to respond.
