AT&T Attack Exposes 73 Million Customer Records On The Dark Web
In a recent statement, AT&T, the largest telecommunications company in the United States, revealed that they had discovered a dataset for sale on the dark web. This dataset includes information from approximately 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and 65.4 million former users, impacting around 73 million accounts in total.
AT&T confirmed that the exposed data comprises passcodes (PIN numbers) and Social Security numbers from 2019 or earlier. It does not include other personal financial information or call history but may contain email and mailing addresses, phone numbers, and birthdates.
The company has contacted all affected customers via email or mail to inform them of the breach and prompt them to reset their passcodes. If you are an AT&T customer, be cautious of any emails requesting you to change your password. Ensure that any such communication is genuinely from AT&T, as cybercriminals may exploit this situation by sending fraudulent emails with malicious links. If you suspect an email is fake, contact AT&T support directly and request a new reset link while on the phone.
The source of the breach remains unclear—whether it originated from AT&T or one of its vendors. However, AT&T has initiated an investigation and will likely employ computer forensics specialists to identify the cause.
The organization will also need to remove any malware from its customer account system without disrupting service for unaffected customers. Addressing this breach will be costly due to the investigation, remediation, potential lawsuits, and legal fees and more.
At AtoZinIT, we emphasize the importance of proactive cybersecurity. While no solution is entirely foolproof, many are robust enough to deter most hackers. It is significantly more expensive to handle the aftermath of a cyber-attack than to prevent one.
If you are concerned about your organization's security, request a FREE Security Assessment from our team of cybersecurity experts. We will analyze your network to identify any vulnerable entry points that hackers could exploit and advise on how to work with third-party vendors to ensure the security of your and your customers' data.
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