According to a report in the Washington Post, the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was infiltrated by cyber criminals who made off with 21.5 million social security numbers. Government officials acknowledge that this is one of the most damaging data breaches ever, as these numbers correlate with high-clearance positions in the government. 

Since the story broke, the director of OPM, Katherine Archuleta, has resigned. 

“It is a very big deal from a national security perspective and from a counterintelligence perspective,” FBI Director James B. Comey told reporters during a press conference at the FBI headquarters. “It’s a treasure trove of information about everybody who has worked for, tried to work for, or works for the United States government.”

More on this story as it develops.

Un-Carrier Competition: T-Mobile Fights Back

Although T-Mobile has had a few hiccups, one thing is certain: it is shaking up the US mobile market like no other. T-Mo has managed to capture the vast majority of growth in the postpaid market while offering a seemingly endless stream of freebies and incentives that distance it further and further from its competitors. From free in-air texting, to free international roaming, to free streaming music, the Un-Carrier just keeps on swinging.

Just last week, T-Mobile extended the coverage included in its plans to all of North America. Now, the magenta-engine-that-could is significantly ramping up its mobile data offerings for family plans in direct opposition to the shared data plans sold by its competitors. T-Mobile family plans will now deliver 10GB of high speed 4G LTE mobile data for just $30 per line on a four-line plan. 

“It’s no surprise Verizon’s spent what looks to be over $100 million in just two months promoting an $80 data plan with 10GB everyone has to share. The catch is, it’s not actually an $80 plan. You can’t actually use any of that data until you pay additional ‘line access’ fees for data you’ve already bought,” said John Legere, President and CEO of T-Mobile. “So, when they say $80, they actually charge a family of four at least $140. And that’s to share 10GB. Leave it to Verizon to push a plan that gives you a pile of data you can’t use unless you fork over more in hidden fees.”

“Why share Verizon’s 10GB with everyone when you can have 10GB of America’s fastest 4G LTE all to yourself?” said Legere. “The way the big carriers offer shared data is just a scheme concocted to trick customers into over-paying or to slam them with overage fees. We’re bringing sanity to family plans and peace of mind to data-hungry families—because that’s what the Un-carrier does.”

Massive mobile data plans, free international mobile data, and free calling and texting to all of North America isn't all T-Mobile has in its quiver. The carrier announced another first this month. 

Rich Communication Services (RCS) has been promoted as a way for mobile operators to compete with over-the-top (OTT) messaging services, and its feature set is certainly compelling. Only one problem: operators have been slow to get RCS off the ground. While Facebook and Google and others have rapidly innovated with advanced messaging services, mobile network operators (MNOs) have been left in the dust, and as a result, lost a lot of money and relevancy.

T-Mobile hopes to change that, as it becomes the first MNO to rollout native RCS messaging for its customers. The new offering includes:

• Rich 1-on-1 and group messaging, including near real-time chat;
• See when others are typing, when a message is delivered, or read; and
• Share high-res photos and videos up to 10 MB just as customers would a regular text message.

The service will debut on Samsung Galaxy 5 devices, but T-Mobile Advanced Messaging is built to work across all devices, makers and operating systems—and wireless operators. T-Mobile says it will add additional features from the RCS feature set after messaging.