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AT&T recently announced the discovery of a data breach involving sensitive information belonging to millions of its current and former customers, which was found online on the “dark web.” The telecommunications company disclosed that the dataset contains data such as Social Security numbers and passcodes for approximately 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former account holders.
While it remains unclear whether the data originated from AT&T or one of its vendors, the company has initiated an investigation into the incident and has started notifying affected customers. The compromised information includes Social Security numbers, passcodes (distinct from passwords), full names, email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and AT&T account numbers. Notably, the impacted data dates back to 2019 or earlier and does not include financial information or call history.
Customers impacted by the breach will receive email or letter notifications directly from AT&T. The company has already reset passcodes for current users and will provide credit monitoring services where applicable. Additionally, AT&T has launched a comprehensive investigation with internal and external cybersecurity experts to further investigate the matter.
This breach is reminiscent of a similar incident in 2021, which AT&T did not acknowledge at the time. Cybersecurity experts warn that failure to address such breaches promptly could lead to legal consequences, including potential class action lawsuits.
To protect their information going forward, consumers are advised to create strong passwords, enable multifactor authentication when available, monitor account activity, and be cautious of phishing attempts. Additionally, consumers can utilize free credit freezes and fraud alerts offered by nationwide credit bureaus to safeguard against identity theft and other malicious activities.