AT&T announced that it had reset the passcodes of 7.6 million customers after compromised customer data was released on the dark web. The company is working with cybersecurity experts to analyze the situation and determine the extent of the breach. The compromised data is from 2019 or earlier and does not include personal financial information or call history. However, it may contain personal information such as names, email addresses, Social Security numbers, and account numbers. In addition to current customers, 65.4 million former account holders were also affected by the breach.
AT&T is reaching out to individuals with compromised information separately and offering complimentary identity theft and credit monitoring services. The company has reset the passcodes for affected customers and provided instructions on how to reset them. They have initiated a robust investigation supported by internal and external cybersecurity experts to determine how the breach occurred and why it went unnoticed for so long. The company did not provide specific details on the cause of the breach.
TechCrunch reported that encrypted passcodes from the leaked data could be used to access AT&T customer accounts. The leaked data is said to belong to AT&T customers, though the company had previously denied a breach of its systems. It is unclear whether the leaked data originated from AT&T or one of its vendors, and the company does not have evidence of unauthorized access resulting in the theft of the data set.
This incident follows a widespread outage experienced by AT&T customers last month, which affected users across the United States. The outage on February 22 disrupted service for customers in cities such as Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York. Around 70,000 reports of disrupted service were recorded at the peak of the outage. In response, AT&T offered affected customers a $5 credit to compensate for the inconvenience caused by the outage.
The breach of customer data highlights the importance of data security and the need for companies like AT&T to strengthen their cybersecurity measures to protect customer information. The company’s response to the breach, including resetting passcodes and offering identity theft monitoring services, is aimed at mitigating the impact on affected customers. It is crucial for organizations to take proactive steps to prevent data breaches and safeguard sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands.
AT&T’s acknowledgment of the data breach and its efforts to address the issue reflect the growing concern over cybersecurity threats in today’s digital age. As technology continues to evolve, cybersecurity challenges are becoming more complex, requiring companies to stay vigilant and implement robust security measures to protect customer data. The company’s response to the breach will be closely monitored as it works to restore customer trust and ensure that similar incidents are prevented in the future.
