Massive AT&T Data Breach Exposes Phone Records of Vast Majority of Customers

Money | July 14, 2024, 2:03 a.m.

Hackers recently stole phone records of over 100 million AT&T customers, including phone numbers, call/text counts, durations, and cell site IDs. AT&T reported the breach to the SEC and is cooperating with law enforcement, leading to the arrest of a suspect linked to the breach. The cybercriminal group UNC5537 is believed to be behind the attack, likely motivated by financial gain. The breach, which occurred between April 14 and April 25, 2024, affected customers of other networks using AT&T’s infrastructure, including Cricket Wireless, Boost Mobile, and Consumer Cellular. The delay in public disclosure of the breach raises transparency concerns, with national security cited as a reason for the delay. This incident is the latest blow to AT&T's cybersecurity efforts following a previous breach affecting over 70 million customers, highlighting the company's data security challenges.