Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
- Data of nearly all AT&T customers was downloaded to a third-party platform in a security breach in 2022.
- The breach compromised approximately 109 million customer accounts and lasted for five months.
The telecommunications giant AT&T announced that data of nearly all its customers was downloaded to a third-party platform in a significant security breach. The breach affected customers of AT&T’s cellular network, mobile virtual network operators, and landline customers who interacted with cellular numbers. The compromised data does not include sensitive personal information but can potentially be used to trace users through publicly available tools.
The internal investigation revealed that the breach occurred over a five-month period in 2022, involving over 100 million customer accounts. Cybersecurity experts highlighted the risks associated with storing vast amounts of data on cloud platforms, as was the case with AT&T’s breach on the Snowflake platform. The company is actively working with cybersecurity experts to understand the full scope of the breach and has identified one suspect in connection with the incident.
Further investigations by the FBI and the Department of Justice are underway to assess the breach’s impact on national security and public safety. This breach adds to a series of cybersecurity incidents that have occurred in various industries throughout the year, raising concerns about data protection and digital security.
