AT&T customers were recently informed that personal information, including Social Security numbers, from approximately 73 million customers was leaked on the dark web. The company stated that the leak is still under investigation to determine if it came from within the company or one of its vendors. The data appears to be from 2019 or earlier and impacts both current and former account holders.
The leaked data set includes sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers, prompting AT&T to reset millions of customer account passwords as a precaution. Despite this, the company stated that there is no evidence of unauthorized access to its systems and the leak has not had a significant impact on its operations. AT&T plans to proactively communicate with those affected by the leak and offer credit where applicable.
This incident comes on the heels of a widespread outage experienced by AT&T customers last month, where over 70,000 customers lost cell service. The outage affected customers across several states, including Texas, Florida, and California. Following an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, it was determined that the outage was caused by an internal error, and there was no evidence of a cyberattack. AT&T offered affected customers a $5 credit as compensation for the inconvenience.
While AT&T is currently dealing with the fallout from the data leak and outage, other communication firms have also faced similar challenges. Verizon recently reported an internal data breach that exposed personal information of more than 63,000 employees. The breach was the result of a Verizon employee obtaining unauthorized access to a file containing employee information, including names, addresses, and Social Security numbers. T-Mobile has also experienced data breaches, impacting hundreds of customers, although no personal financial information was accessed in these incidents.
As AT&T works to address the data leak and maintain the trust of its customers, the company continues to prioritize cybersecurity measures to prevent future incidents. With the rise in data breaches affecting various industries, including telecommunication companies, it is crucial for companies to remain vigilant in protecting customer information and taking swift action in the event of a breach. AT&T’s response to the recent data leak and outage underscores the importance of transparency, communication, and proactive measures in handling cybersecurity incidents.
