In a shocking revelation, US mobile operator AT&T disclosed that hackers managed to steal call and message data from nearly all of its customers over a span of six months in 2022, affecting approximately 90 million individuals. The company acknowledged that the breach involved the unauthorized extraction of AT&T customer data from a third-party cloud platform where it was stored, leading to a comprehensive investigation into the matter.
The compromised data primarily consisted of records of phone calls and text messages made between May and October 2022 by AT&T mobile subscribers. This information included phone numbers and, in some instances, location data that could potentially be exploited by malicious actors to determine the geographic origins of communications. However, AT&T reassured that the content of the calls and messages, as well as personal details like names or social security numbers, were not part of the data breach.
AT&T promptly secured the access point used by the hackers to prevent further unauthorized entry into their systems. The company informed that at least one suspect had been apprehended in connection with the breach. Additionally, AT&T emphasized that the stolen data was not believed to be publicly available at the time of disclosure and pledged to collaborate with law enforcement agencies in the ongoing investigation.
Although AT&T did not explicitly mention Snowflake in their statement, speculations arose linking the cloud platform to the data breach. Snowflake, a provider of data analytics services to corporate clients, has recently experienced a series of security incidents involving unauthorized data access. A close source to the situation confirmed that the hackers gained entry to AT&T’s records through Snowflake, raising concerns about the platform’s role in safeguarding sensitive information.
This incident marks the second significant cybersecurity breach suffered by AT&T in 2022, following an earlier data leak affecting millions of customers. While the exposed data in this latest breach was deemed less sensitive than the previous incident, security experts urged affected individuals to take proactive measures to protect their identities. Recommendations included changing AT&T account passwords and implementing additional security measures like multifactor authentication to mitigate the risk of further breaches.
In response to the AT&T data breach, the Department of Justice announced that it had initiated an investigation into the cybersecurity incident. The involvement of federal authorities underscores the severity of the breach and the importance of holding accountable those responsible for compromising the privacy and security of millions of AT&T customers.
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