AT&T Confirms Leak of Data Affecting 73 Million Users on the Dark Web

AT&T has confirmed a significant data breach, with information pertaining to roughly 73 million current and former customers now circulating on the dark web. The Dallas-based telecommunications giant acknowledged the breach following a report by TechCrunch, which indicated that the data set included personal details such as Social Security numbers. This dataset, seemingly originating from 2019 or earlier, affects about 7.6 million existing customers and around 65.4 million former users. It remains uncertain whether the data leak stemmed directly from AT&T or one of its third-party vendors.

In response to this security incident, AT&T has initiated a comprehensive investigation with the aid of both internal and external cybersecurity experts. The company has also taken immediate action by resetting passcodes for all affected current customers and plans to notify both current and former account holders whose sensitive personal information was compromised. Despite the severity of the leak, AT&T has reassured that no personal financial details or call history were included in the exposed data.

This breach is not the company’s first cybersecurity challenge of the year, recalling a February incident where a software update temporarily disrupted cell service for thousands of U.S. customers. AT&T’s efforts to manage the aftermath of this latest data leak include robust communication strategies and heightened security measures to prevent future incidents.