AT&T revealed on Friday that “nearly all” of its customers experienced a data breach by one or more hackers in 2022. The telecom giant reported that between May and October of 2022, call and text records were illegally downloaded by “threat actors.” AT&T became aware of the issue in April and has since collaborated with cybersecurity experts to comprehend the extent of the unauthorized activity.
The company specified that hackers obtained telephone numbers and cell site IDs, but did not access more sensitive data such as the content of messages, Social Security numbers, or birth dates. However, AT&T could not guarantee the hackers wouldn’t be able to find customers’ names.
“We are working with law enforcement in its efforts to arrest those involved in the incident,” the company stated on Friday, adding that at least one individual has already been apprehended.
AT&T highlighted that a third-party cloud provider was compromised, rather than its own servers. The hackers accessed the data through AT&T’s workspace on a separate cloud platform, which Bloomberg identified as Snowflake.
“This incident has not had a material impact on AT&T’s operations, and AT&T does not believe that this incident is reasonably likely to materially impact AT&T’s financial condition or results of operations,” the company stated in an SEC filing.
Key Figures:
– 242 million: Number of AT&T wireless customers in the U.S. as of 2023, according to Statista.
– 6: Number of months in 2022 for which hackers accessed almost all AT&T customer call logs.
– $30 billion: AT&T revenues in the first quarter of 2024.
– 1.14%: Decline in AT&T’s stock price following news of the hack.