AT&T, the US telecommunications giant, announced that sensitive information such as addresses, social security numbers, and passcodes had been published on the dark web. The company stated that while they have not found evidence of data theft, they have enlisted cybersecurity experts to conduct a thorough investigation.
As a precautionary measure, AT&T has reset customers’ passcodes and advised them to “remain vigilant by monitoring account activity and credit reports.” The data involved in the breach seems to date back to 2019 or earlier and affects 7.6 million current customers as well as 65.4 million former account holders. While full names, email addresses, and dates of birth were compromised, AT&T assured that financial information was not part of the leak.
AT&T expressed uncertainty regarding the source of the data, whether it originated from their own systems or a third-party supplier. Known for its extensive wireless 5G network, covering approximately 290 million people in the US, AT&T is one of the nation’s largest providers of mobile and internet services.
This announcement follows a significant outage in February that impacted tens of thousands of phone users. The outage lasted around 12 hours, prompting AT&T to issue an apology and offer a $5 credit to affected customers. Prosecutors in New York have launched an investigation into this previous episode.
SOURCE: BBC | APRIL 1 2024
