AT&T customers in the U.S. faced a temporary network disruption on Thursday, attributed to a software update gone awry. The company clarified to ABC News that the outage, which affected services for a period, was not the result of a cyberattack but rather a mistake during network expansion. Despite the inconvenience caused, AT&T assured customers that they are actively assessing the situation to maintain the quality of service expected.
Initial investigations suggest that the software update, based on information from sources familiar with the matter, was the root cause of the disruption. AT&T emphasized that there was no malicious intent behind the incident. The faulty update led to service interruptions, prompting AT&T to recommend customers make calls over Wi-Fi. However, the issue was swiftly addressed, and AT&T announced later on Thursday afternoon that full network restoration had been achieved.
Federal agencies, including the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), were involved in the investigation. As of now, there are no indications of malicious activity, according to a confidential memo obtained by ABC News from CISA. Other carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile, unaffected by the outage, acknowledged that their networks were operating normally but cautioned that contacting individuals on the AT&T network might be challenging during the disruption.
SOURCE: ABC NEWS | FEBRUARY 26 2024