9M customers affected in AT&T data breach

AT&T data breach overview: 

• Who: AT&T notified around 9 million of its customers about a data breach that exposed their first names, email addresses, wireless phone numbers and wireless account numbers. 
• Why: The wireless carrier attributed the data breach to a hacking event against one of its marketing vendors in January.
• Where: The data breach affects AT&T customers nationwide.

AT&T notified around 9 million of its customers earlier this month about a data breach it said happened after one of its marketing vendors was hacked in January.

The wireless carrier reassured customers that, while some information was exposed, no credit card information, Social Security numbers, account passwords or other sensitive data was affected, Bleeping Computer reports. 

Impacted AT&T customers reportedly had their Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) accessed, leading to the exposure of first names, wireless phone numbers, wireless account numbers and email addresses. 

AT&T said its systems were not compromised during the hacking incident and noted the compromised data was primarily related to upgrade eligibility for its devices, Bleeping Computer reported. 

“CPNI is information related to the telecommunications services you purchase from us, such as the number of lines on your account or the wireless plan to which you are subscribed,” AT&T said, in its letter to affected customers. 

AT&T tells data breach-affected customers vulnerability with hacked vendor has been fixed, FCC notified 

In its letter, AT&T said it addressed the data breach by confirming the vulnerability with its vendor has been fixed and by notifying federal law enforcement, as required by the Federal Communications Commision (FCC). 

“Our report to law enforcement does not contain specific information about your account, only that the unauthorized access occurred,” AT&T said. 

AT&T, while apologizing for the data breach, also has advised impacted customers to consider adding its “extra security” password protection to their accounts “at no cost.” 

Last year, AT&T was among a group of major wireless carriers — including Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile — who shared details of their data sharing practices with the FCC, following a request by the agency. 

The FCC had asked the wireless carriers to submit details to the government agency about how they protect sensitive consumer information — including geolocation data. 

Are you impacted by the AT&T data breach? Let us know in the comments! 

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