Some top Democratic Senators are pulling rank, as in ranking member status, on T-Mobile and Experian in the wake of a data breach at Experian that may have exposed the Social Security numbers of up to 15 million T-Mobile customers.
In a letter to the CEO's of both companies, Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), ranking member of the parent Commerce Committee, and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), ranking member of the Communications and Internet Subcommittee, said they wanted answers about what happened and what the companies are doing to address the security breach.
They used the letter as an opportunity to push for cybersecurity legislation.
“We have been advocates for data security and breach notification legislation that would better protect consumers and improve corporate responsibility,” the senators said in announcing the request from the companies. “Experian and T-Mobile’s recent incident demonstrates the need for legislation that addresses both consumer notification and sets minimum security requirements for companies that collect and store such sensitive consumer data.”
They said they expected detailed information on how such a breach occurred.
