AT&T said that a dataset found on the “dark web” contains information including some Social Security numbers and passcodes for about 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former account holders.
Incompetent AT&T Has Largest Dark Web Data Leak In Their Company’s History, Social Security Numbers Revealed
BBC reports:
Personal data belonging to 73 million current or former AT&T customers has been leaked online.
Information including addresses, social security numbers and passcodes was published on the dark web, the US telecoms giant said.
MarketBeat reports:
In a Saturday announcement addressing the data breach, AT&T said that a dataset found on the “dark web” contains information including some Social Security numbers and passcodes for about 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former account holders.
Whether the data “originated from AT&T or one of its vendors” is still unknown, the Dallas-based company noted — adding that it had launched an investigation into the incident. AT&T has also begun notifying customers whose personal information was compromised.
Here’s what you need to know.
WHAT INFORMATION WAS COMPROMISED IN THIS BREACH?
Although varying by each customer and account, AT&T says that information involved in this breach included Social Security numbers and passcodes — which, unlike passwords, are numerical PINS that are typically four digits long.
Full names, email addresses, mailing address, phone numbers, dates of birth and AT&T account numbers may have also been compromised. The impacted data is from 2019 or earlier and does not appear to include financial information or call history, the company said.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?
Consumers impacted by this breach should be receiving an email or letter directly from AT&T about the incident. The email notices began going out on Saturday, an AT&T spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press.
WHAT ACTION HAS AT&T TAKEN?
Beyond these notifications, AT&T said that it had already reset the passcodes of current users. The company added that it would pay for credit monitoring services where applicable.
AT&T also said that it “launched a robust investigation” with internal and external cybersecurity experts to investigate the situation further.
