Fast facts
- AT&T has confirmed a data breach affecting nearly 73 million current and former AT&T customers.
- The operator has confirmed that the data set is from “2019 or earlier” and is resetting passwords for all active accounts.
AT&T (t) It has now confirmed a massive data breach affecting current and former customers. After being first reported by TechCrunchThe wireless carrier acknowledged the breach containing information on nearly 73 million AT&T customers.
To help protect affected customers, AT&T is resetting account passwords and will send a letter by email or mail explaining what happened. The wireless carrier also created an FAQ site, but this is the first time it has acknowledged the data breach, which was a first. reported in 2021.
Related: Microsoft Office no longer comes with this popular software
AT&T shared that the compromised data that appeared on the dark web appears to be from 2019 or earlier, affecting approximately 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and 65.4 million former account holders.” Additionally, the leaked information “may have included full name, email address, mailing address, phone number, social security number, date of birth, AT&T account number, and password.”
It is also noted that the type of information included varies depending on the account. Before recognizing the leak after Original TechCrunch report, AT&T had denied infringement. Protecting an account with a password is not just an AT&T practice; It is common with other wireless service providers. It is generally used as a security layer to increase security when calling or visiting a store.
Beyond the response of notifying customers by “email or letter,” AT&T suggests customers review and monitor credit reports and wireless account. The carrier also recommends setting up free fraud alerts from Equifax, Experian, or Transunion and checking a credit report for free at Freecreditreport.com.
Confirmation of this leak of AT&T customer records comes after the wireless provider got off to a rocky start in 2024 with a 12-hour outage on February 22, which it attempted to correct by offering a $5 credit. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also opened a formal investigation into the AT&T outage on February 22, 2024.
TheStreet has reached out to AT&T for further comment; the wireless service provider responded and referred us to a Press release and FAQ website, which you can access here.
In it release, AT&T notes that it is unclear where the data originated from, whether directly from the carrier or from a provider. Additionally, AT&T has launched a “robust investigation supported by internal and external cybersecurity experts” and has “no evidence of unauthorized access to its systems resulting in the exfiltration of the data set.”
Related: A veteran fund manager picks his favorite stocks for 2024
