AT&T disclosed on Friday that the company experienced a significant hacking incident in April, resulting in the illegal download of data from approximately 109 million customer accounts. This data breach included records of calls and texts from 2022.
The U.S. telecom giant stated that the FBI is actively investigating the breach, and at least one person has been arrested. The unauthorized access involved AT&T call logs copied from a third-party cloud platform, marking a substantial breach of consumer communication records. This incident follows a recent ransomware attack on UnitedHealth Group’s Optum, which compromised the private data of an estimated one-third of Americans.
The compromised data includes files containing AT&T records of calls and texts for nearly all of AT&T’s cellular and landline customers. These files also include details about interactions with those cellular numbers between May and October 2022. Importantly, the stolen data does not contain the content of calls or texts or personal information such as social security numbers.
In response to the breach, AT&T’s shares dropped 1.2% in early trading. The company delayed the public disclosure of the hack at the request of the Justice Department.
While the FBI has not identified any suspects, it confirmed working with AT&T and the Justice Department collaboratively to enhance their intelligence efforts. This ongoing collaboration aims to bolster the FBI’s investigative capabilities and support AT&T’s incident-response measures.
Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced an ongoing investigation into the breach. AT&T revealed that the compromised data includes records from January 2, 2023, for a small number of customers.
The breach came to light on April 19 when a hacker claimed to have obtained unauthorized access to AT&T call logs. The company confirmed that the compromised data had been accessible between April 4 and 11. AT&T assured customers that the breach did not include personal or financial information but urged vigilance against potential fraud.
Reuters
