Can an FCC Task Force Actually Curb Carrier Hacks, SIM-Swapping Attacks?

pcmag.com:

In a bid to stop data breaches and SIM-swapping attacks on consumers, the FCC is creating a new task force to crack down on US carriers with poor security practices. 

The Privacy and Data Protection Task Force promises to show some teeth in reining the telecommunications industry, says FCC Chairwoman Jessica Roscenworcel.

“We are going to bring all of our technical and legal experts together from across the agency to maximize coordination and use the law to get results—by evolving our policies and taking enforcement action,” she said in a speech(Opens in a new window) on Wednesday. 

The task force will try to address the data breaches that continue to hit US carriers. In her speech, Rosenworcel alluded to the January breach at T-Mobile, where data on 37 million users was stolen, and then another breach(Opens in a new window) in March at AT&T involving customer data of 9 million wireless accounts. 

“Over and over again we are seeing reports of data breaches involving the data carriers have about their customers,” she said. 

The other major problem is how scammers continue to successfully manipulate carriers into performing SIM-swapping attacks on their customers, enabling them to hijack their cell phone numbers. The attacks work by stealing a victim’s personal details, and then impersonating them to trick a cellular provider into handing over access to the victim’s cell phone number. The scammer can then use the hijacked phone number to bypass the two-factor authentication on email and bank accounts, thus making SIM swaps one of the most devastating kind of hacks. 

“Late last year we had a carrier notify an undisclosed number of its prepaid wireless customers that they had been targeted by SIM-swapping attacks,”