On July 12, AT&T announced a major data breach that affected nearly all AT&T cellular customers. While customers' personal information such as names and social security numbers weren't accessed in the data breach, files containing records of calls and texts were illegally downloaded.
In this article, I’ll share what we know about the AT&T data breach including:
AT&T Customers’ Call & Text Message Records Illegally Downloaded
According to AT&T , the company learned that customer data was illegally downloaded in April. The breach occurred from AT&T's workspace on a third-party cloud platform ( Snowflake ). AT&T immediately launched an investigation.
“Our investigation found that the downloaded data included phone call and text message records of nearly all of AT&T cellular customers from May 1, 2022 to October 31, 2022 as well as on January 2, 2023. These records identify other phone numbers that an AT&T wireless number interacted with during this time, including AT&T landline (home phone) customers. For a subset of the records, one or more cell site ID numbers associated with the interactions are also included.”
AT&T
AT&T does not believe that the stolen data is available to the public.
The stolen records do contain AT&T phone numbers as well as "phone numbers with which an AT&T number interacted during this period." The records also included "counts of those calls or texts and total call durations for specific days or months."
Fortunately, the downloaded data doesn't include the content of calls placed or text messages sent or received. Additionally, the time stamps for the calls or texts were not included in the stolen records.
More importantly, the stolen records did not contain personal details including social security numbers, dates of birth or other personally identifiable information. However, AT&T warns there are often ways to find a name associated with a phone number. For example, reserve number lookup websites or software may have your name associated with your phone number.
If you’d like to access the phone numbers of your calls and texts that were illegally downloaded, you can request the details from AT&T anytime before December 2024.
AT&T Customers Affected by the Data Breach
According to AT&T , nearly all cellular customers from May 1, 2022 to October 31, 2022 as well as on January 2, 2023 were affected . This includes most customers who had cellular service with AT&T during those times regardless of whether or not your account is still active.
Additionally, the data breach affected AT&T landline customers who interacted with those cellular numbers during those times.
Customers who have service through an AT&T MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) were also affected in the data breach. AT&T MVNOs include these popular carriers, among others:
AT&T indicated that this breach was isolated to cellular service customers. The company did not indicate that customers with internet-only or TV-only services were impacted.
I f your account was affected by the data breach, AT&T will contact you via text, email or U.S. mail. If you have an active AT&T account, you can also log in to check your account online .
How AT&T Is Responding to the Data Breach
According to AT&T , the affected access point has been confirmed and secured.
While AT&T hasn’t identified how many individuals were involved in the illegal download, the company is working with law enforcement in its efforts to arrest the hackers. According to AT&T, at least one person has been apprehended at this time.
Current and former AT&T customers are also able to request the details of their compromised information (the phone numbers of their calls and texts that was included in the stolen records).
Current AT&T customers can use these links to request their records:
Former AT&T customers who have been affected by the data breach will receive a notification with their account number(s) and a case number. Prior customers will need a case number to submit their request.
Former AT&T wireless and home phone customers can submit a data request here . Former AT&T Premier users should visit AT&T's website on July 19 for additional information.
For more information, visit AT&T's website . You can also read the original press release here .
Has AT&T contacted you to let you know that your data was stolen? Let us know in our Clark.com Community .
This article was originally published on Clark.com
The post AT&T Data Breach Affects "Nearly All" AT&T Cellular Customers appeared first on Clark Howard .
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