Thousands of Freedom Mobile customers had their personal information compromised in an unencrypted database. Security researchers found that the database was without a password and written in plain text. Information included: customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, account numbers and IP addresses. Financial information was also found on the server, including: credit card numbers, security codes and credit scores.
With a head scratching time frame, it appears that it took Freedom Mobile a week to secure the leaked data, making the backlash and criticism even more severe. As one would imagine, the severity of a breach and its response time to customers are two major factors that play into public perception. By not taking the appropriate measures to secure the data base, encrypt the data, respond quickly and put the customers first, Freedom Mobile has put themselves in a position of further disadvantage when it comes to brand recovery and remediation. Time will tell how this will affect the company’s overall reputation.