Massive AT&T data breach sees hackers steal personal data of almost all customers

4 months ago 28

A massive AT&T data breach has seen hackers able to steal the personal data of almost every customer the company has – a total of some 110 million Americans.

In an incredible security fail, the stolen data includes not only customer phone numbers, but also records of who contacted whom – a potential privacy minefield …

AT&T confirmed the breach to TechCrunch.

[The] data breach allowed cybercriminals to steal the phone records of “nearly all” of its customers, a company spokesperson told TechCrunch.

In a statement, AT&T said that the stolen data contains phone numbers of both cellular and landline customers, as well as AT&T records of calls and text messages — such as who contacted who by phone or text — during a six-month period between May 1, 2022 and October 31, 2022.

To make matters worse, hackers were also able to obtain cell site identification numbers for some of the calls and texts – which can provide locations of customers to an accuracy of around 300 feet in some areas.

AT&T says that the data was downloaded from a third-party cloud company.

We learned that AT&T customer data was illegally downloaded from our workspace on a third-party cloud platform. We started an investigation and engaged leading cybersecurity experts to help us determine the nature and scope of the issue. We have confirmed the access point has been secured.

Whoever obtained the data has not (yet) leaked it, and the company says at least one arrest has been made.