Hackers have stolen driver’s license information and Social Security numbers from over 40 million T-Mobile customers, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
T-Mobile reports that first and last names, date of birth, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license information was stolen and encompassed people who had applied for credit with the cellphone carrier, as well as 7.8 million current customers using postpaid plans.
Additionally, 850,000 customers on prepaid plans had their names, phone numbers, and account PINs leaked.
T-Mobile claims to have found the access point that the hackers used to break into the servers and have since closed it, but didn’t disclose the breach earlier this week until after the information showed up for sale on a hacker forum.
This incident ranks up there with one of the larger leaks of Social Security numbers in recent years, at a time when cybersecurity is a pressing concern with so much of the workforce working from home.
T-Mobile has reset the PIN numbers of all the pre-paid accounts affected, and is currently offering customers identity-protection services from McAfee for free.
‘UCYB’ Offers Leveraged Exposure to Major Cybersecurity Companies
Ransomware attacks are on the rise, and cybersecurity has become a mounting concern as increasingly more companies look to protect themselves and their assets.
The ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF (UCYB) is a leveraged ETF that tracks twice the daily returns of the Nasdaq CTA Cybersecurity Index, the same index tracked by the First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR).
The ETF in fact holds CIBR, then uses swaps contracts on that ETF to obtain leveraged exposure.
UCYB’s underlying benchmark tracks companies that build, implement, and manage security protocols for public and private networks. To be included, companies must have a minimum market cap of $250 million. Within the index, no singular security can carry more than 6% weight; lower volume securities have even tighter weighting restrictions.
The ETF’s benchmark tracks companies such as CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD), Accenture Plc (ACN), and Cisco Systems (CSCO).
As a leveraged fund, UCYB carries different, greater risks than non-leveraged funds, and should be actively monitored.
UCYB carries an expense ratio of 0.98%, with a contractual waiver that ends on 9/30/22.
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