AT&T Discloses Massive Data Breach Affecting 109 Million Customer Accounts

AT&T Reveals Massive Hacking Incident Exposing Data from 109 Million Customer Accounts

In a shocking revelation, AT&T announced on Friday that it had fallen victim to a massive hacking incident, resulting in the illegal download of data from approximately 109 million customer accounts. The stolen information included records of calls and texts from the year 2022.

The U.S. telecom company disclosed that the FBI is currently investigating the breach and that at least one individual has been arrested in connection with the incident. The breach occurred when AT&T call logs were copied from its workspace on a third-party cloud platform, compromising significant amounts of consumer communication records.

While the compromised data did not contain the content of calls or texts, or personal information such as social security numbers, it did include files containing AT&T records of calls and texts for almost all of the company’s cellular and landline customers who interacted with cellular numbers between May 2022 and October 2022. Additionally, records from January 2, 2023, for a small number of customers were also compromised.

AT&T first became aware of the breach on April 19 when a hacker claimed to have unlawfully accessed and copied the call logs. Subsequent investigations revealed that hackers had exfiltrated files containing customer call and text interactions between April 14 and April 25.

In response to the breach, AT&T has implemented additional cybersecurity measures, including closing off the point of unlawful access. The company also plans to notify affected customers and establish a dedicated website where customers can check if their data was compromised.

Despite the incident, AT&T reassured the public that it has not experienced any material impact on its operations. The company is cooperating with law enforcement agencies and has delayed public notification based on guidance from the Justice Department.

As news of the hacking incident spread, AT&T shares were down 2% in premarket trading. The FBI and Federal Communications Commission have not yet released any official statements regarding the breach.

Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.