The data of 73 million AT&T customers was leaked to the dark web.
AT&T confirmed in a statement on March 30 that the customer data leaked to the dark web included current account users and past customers.
AT&T said the affected data information appears to date back to 2019 or earlier, with approximately 7.6 million current customers and approximately 65.4 million past customers affected.
The compromised information includes Social Security numbers (SSNs).
The exact cause of the breach remains unclear, and it is not confirmed whether the breach occurred at AT&T or one of its vendors. AT&T has launched an investigation into the breach.
In a letter to customers, AT&T said it has reset the account passwords of all affected current customers.
The company is also communicating with current and past customers whose sensitive information was compromised and will offer credit monitoring.
According to AT&T, the compromised data does not include personal financial information or call logs, and the breach has not materially impacted service delivery.
This isn’t the first time AT&T has struggled with customer service issues this year. In February, tens of thousands of customers across the country temporarily lost cell phone service due to a software update issue. As compensation, AT&T offered $5 credits to affected customers.
BY GYEONGEUN PARK, HOONSIK WOO [park.gyeongeun@koreadaily.com]
