AT&T recently announced that it had reset the passcodes of 7.6 million customers after compromised customer data was discovered on the dark web. The data appeared to be from 2019 or earlier and did not include personal financial information or call history. The company also identified 65.4 million former account holders who were affected by the breach. AT&T stated that it would be reaching out to individuals with compromised sensitive personal information to offer complimentary identity theft and credit monitoring services.
In response to the breach, AT&T reset the passcodes for affected customers and directed them to a site with instructions on how to reset them. The company also launched a robust investigation with the help of internal and external cybersecurity experts. Despite this, a company representative did not provide specific details on how the breach occurred or why it went undetected for so long. TechCrunch, the first to report on the passcode reset, informed AT&T that the leaked data included encrypted passcodes that could potentially be used to access customer accounts. This marked the first time that AT&T acknowledged that the leaked data belonged to its customers, three years after a hacker claimed the theft of 73 million AT&T customer records.
AT&T stated that they were unsure whether the leaked data came from AT&T or one of its vendors and that there was no evidence of unauthorized access to its systems resulting in theft of the data set. This incident follows a widespread outage last month that affected AT&T customers across the United States, including major cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York. The outage, which lasted several hours, prompted around 70,000 reports of disrupted service at its peak. In an attempt to appease affected customers, AT&T offered a $5 credit to those impacted by the outage.
Overall, the recent data breach at AT&T has raised concerns about the security of customer information and the company’s ability to protect sensitive data. The incident highlights the importance of cybersecurity measures and the need for companies to remain vigilant in monitoring and addressing potential threats. AT&T’s response to the breach, including offering identity theft and credit monitoring services to affected individuals, demonstrates a commitment to addressing the issue and protecting customer data. However, questions remain about how the breach occurred in the first place and why it took so long for the company to detect and address the compromised data. As technology continues to advance, it is crucial for companies like AT&T to prioritize cybersecurity and take proactive steps to safeguard customer information from potential threats and breaches.
