January 14, 2005

A malicious hacker successfully penetrated the network of mobile phone company T-Mobile USA and managed to access some sensitive information on 400 of the company's customers, including critical data from the account of a U.S. Secret Service agent, according to various statements by the Secret Service and T-Mobile USA.

In an e-mail statement, the Bellevue, Wash.-based mobile carrier acknowledged that Nicholas Jacobsen, a California-based hacker, allegedly compromised its internal computer systems in 2003 and viewed the Social Security numbers of 400 customers.

A grand jury in California charged Jacobsen with one count of unauthorized impairment of a protected computer and one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer, according to a copy of the indictment.

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Among the customers affected was a U.S. Secret Service agent who had agency materials linked to Secret Service investigations stored on T-Mobile systems. That information was obtained by Jacobsen but did not compromise any ongoing work, according to Secret Service spokesman Jonathan Cherry.

The unnamed Secret Service agent violated rules that forbid sensitive documents from being copied to other computer systems, Cherry said. He would not comment on whether the agent would be punished for the breach of policy.

The statement from T-Mobile, part of Deutsche Telekom AG, shed some light on published allegations that Jacobsen used his access to T-Mobile to explore the accounts of members, including the U.S. Secret Service employee, and celebrity cell phone accounts that stored snapshots taken on T-Mobile phones.

The company said Jacobsen is believed to be involved in other attempts to access customer information and said it is cooperating with the Secret Service in investigating those allegations.

T-Mobile claims that it discovered the intrusion on its network in October 2003, and reported it to the U.S. Secret Service.

After launching an investigation, the Secret Service found that one of its agents was a victim of information theft and contacted T-Mobile about the leak of sensitive documents over its network, according to Kyle Warnick, a company spokesman.

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The Secret Service could not comment on published reports that an informant alerted agents that sensitive documents were circulating on the hacker underground, Cherry said.

Customers whose accounts were allegedly accessed by Jacobsen were notified in writing about the breach, in accordance with California law, in early 2004 -- after the company received clearance from the Secret Service.

T-Mobile said it is unaware of any problems with those accounts stemming from the hack.

Source: ComputerWorld

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