Trump Mobile breach reportedly exposes personal data from 3,615 users: Who hacked the firm and how?

Trump Mobile, launched by Donald Trump's sons, has recently suffered a data breach affecting over three thousand customers. A cybercrime group named BYOD claimed responsibility for the hack, which exposed personal data including names and contact details. The group reportedly gained access through an employee of Liberty Mobile, the network operator supporting Trump Mobile.

Trump Mobile, the cellular service launched by President Donald Trump's sons, has been hacked, according to multiple reports. The hack reportedly exposed the data of more than 3,000 customers, Forbes reported citing PCMag. The hack also reportedly affected several high-ranking executives in the Trump Organization.

The leaked data allegedly includes names, contact information, including email addresses and phone numbers. It even contains residence addresses of those affected by the hack.

The hack may have also exposed the data of Trump Organization's vice president and chief information officer, Eric Brunnett, Straight Arrow, which first reported the breach said.

Who hacked Trump Mobile?A newly established cybercrime group known as BYOD claimed responsibility for the alleged attack. The group exposed the data on a dark website last week. They also detailed internal communication from Trump Mobile.

The group published a file on their website claiming to contain the personal data of 3,615 customers of the company. The website further encouraged dark web users to view the data of all these customers. "We (and them) certainly aren't stopping you," BYOD's website read.

The hackers also claimed that they had informed Trump Mobile about the breach. They alleged that the firm replied that they did not have a team to handle the hack. Trump Mobile said that "anyone who hacks them is a terrorist," BYOD alleged on their website.

PCMag identified three customers affected by the breach. They were able to reach the users as the file published by BYOD contained their data. The three customers confirmed that they had interacted with Trump Mobile in the past.

Among the customers, one was surprised that the data accurately showed they had canceled a 30 day plan for Trump Mobile.

How did BYOD hack the company?The group has claimed that it gained access to Trump Mobile through an employee of Liberty Mobile. The Florida-based mobile virtual network operator powers the service behind Trump Mobile. BYOD allegedly ratted the employee.

Ratting refers to when hackers install a remote-access Trojan on the target's computer. This creates a way for the hacker to remotely access and hijack their computer.

The hackers said they installed a similar trojan into the Liberty Mobile employee's computer. However, the attack only permitted the group to access prepaid numbers. This prompted them to pivot to subdomains.

BYOD said they only stole the data of 3,615 people since these were the only ones who are currently using or previously used the Liberty Mobile.

The group also claimed that they have live access to the dashboard of Trump Mobile's website.

Previous breaches in Trump Mobile Earlier this year, YouTubers Coffeezilla and Cr1TiKaL warned of possible breaches in the firm's website. They had detailed an exploitable software flaw on the website. The YouTubers said the flaw could be used by hackers to gain access to the company's customer data. Trump Mobile later claimed it had fixed the flaw.

Another hacking group had claimed it had obtained data linked to around 4,000 Trump Mobile users in September.

The company has also launched a probe into a potential security flaw on its website. The breach may have exposed the data of around 27,000 people, according to The Guardian. The users had sought to purchase the firm's gold-coloured smartphone.

Trump Mobile has not publicly confirmed the breach.