Dallas, Texas – AT&T revealed on Saturday that personal data from millions of current and former account holders has been exposed on the dark web. The telecommunications giant, headquartered in Dallas, disclosed that the leaked data, believed to be from 2019 or earlier, surfaced about two weeks ago, with the source of the breach unknown.
Preliminary analysis conducted by AT&T indicates that the compromised data includes information from approximately 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former ones, affecting a total of around 73 million individuals. The company has assured that affected individuals will receive notifications via email or letter.
While AT&T stated that the data breach does not include personal financial information or call history, it did acknowledge that the exposed information may contain full names, email addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, and AT&T account numbers and passcodes. As a precaution, the company is offering complimentary identity theft and credit monitoring services to impacted customers.
In response to the breach, AT&T has reset passcodes for account holders, urging everyone to update their passcodes as an added security measure. Security experts advise affected individuals to monitor their credit reports closely and implement two-factor authentication across all their accounts.
Cybersecurity analysts emphasize the significance of addressing the leak promptly, given the exposure of sensitive personal information that could potentially be used for malicious activities in cyberspace. They recommend signing up for credit monitoring services offered by AT&T and consider implementing a block on credit to prevent fraudulent activities.
Similar to other major telecom companies, AT&T’s competitors have also faced data breaches in recent years. T-Mobile disclosed incidents where millions of customers’ personal data was accessed by unauthorized parties, resulting in substantial settlements to resolve class-action lawsuits. Verizon has also encountered data breaches in the past, highlighting the ongoing threat posed by cyber attacks in the telecommunications industry.