AT&T says 109m US customers’ accounts hacked

• AT&T has taken additional cybersecurity measures to close off the point of unauthorised access and is working closely with law enforcement to address the situation.
• Customers affected by the incident will be notified, and AT&T has promised to set up a website where individuals can determine if their data has been compromised.

The US telecom company AT&T has announced a massive hacking incident that has compromised the data of approximately 109 million customer accounts.

The breach, which occurred in April 2023, has resulted in the illegal downloading of records detailing the calls and text messages of AT&T’s cellular and landline customers from May 2022 to October 2022.

According to the company’s statement, the compromised data does not include the content of the calls or texts, nor does it contain sensitive personal information such as social security numbers.

However, the records do include details about the telephone numbers with which a specific wireless number interacted, as well as the duration of those interactions and the associated cell site identification numbers.

No material impact on operations

The FBI is currently investigating the incident, and at least one person has been arrested in connection with the breach. AT&T has also taken additional cybersecurity measures to close off the point of unauthorised access and is working closely with law enforcement to address the situation.

While the company has stated that the incident has not had a material impact on its operations, the breach of such a significant volume of customer communication records is a concerning development.

Customers affected by the incident will be notified, and AT&T has promised to set up a website where individuals can determine if their data has been compromised.

This event underscores the ongoing challenge of maintaining the security and privacy of customer data in the digital age. As technology continues to advance, companies must remain vigilant in implementing robust cybersecurity measures to protect the sensitive information entrusted to them by their customers.