AT&T Inc. T has acknowledged a significant data breach that has impacted millions of its customers, saying their passcodes have been compromised.
What Happened: During the weekend, the telecommunications company confirmed that “a number of AT&T passcodes have been compromised.”
It further stated that they have taken steps to reset passcodes for 7.6 million of its current customers and are reaching out to additional current and former “account holders with compromised sensitive personal information.”
The breach, which occurred over two years ago, has resulted in the theft of passcodes, names, dates of birth, home addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers, reported AppleInsider, noting that the vast majority of the compromised passwords are associated with approximately 65.4 million present and past AT&T customers.
See Also: Microsoft, OpenAI Reportedly Plan $100B Supercomputer Project ‘Stargate’
However, AT&T has stated that no personal financial information or call history were affected by the breach. “To the best of our knowledge, the compromised data appears to be from 2019 or earlier and does not contain personal financial information or call history.”
The stolen data was initially reported on hacker forums in 2021, a claim that AT&T had refuted, the report noted.
AT&T has set up a new webpage to inform customers about the incident and provide tips on securing their accounts. The company has also stated that it is working with external cybersecurity experts to analyze the situation and is offering complimentary identity theft and credit monitoring services to affected customers.
“If your information was impacted, you will be receiving an email or letter from us explaining the incident, what information was compromised, and what we are doing for you in response,” the company said.
Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.
Why It Matters: This is not the first time AT&T has been embroiled in a data breach.
Last year in April, hackers targeted users with AT&T email addresses, gaining access to cryptocurrency exchanges and stealing digital assets. This latest breach raises concerns about the company’s cybersecurity measures and its ability to protect customer data.
The AT&T breach is part of a larger trend of increased cybercrime and data breaches affecting major companies and their customers. In 2023, notable cyberattacks occurred, with one targeting the U.S. State Department standing out among them.
According to projections by Statista, the worldwide expense attributed to cybercrime is anticipated to surge to $23.84 trillion by 2027, marking a significant increase from the $8.44 trillion recorded in 2022.
Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Consumer Tech by following this link.
Photo by Mike Mozart via Flickr
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
