AT&T (NYSE: T) announced this weekend it has determined that a data set released on the “dark web” approximately two weeks ago included data-specific fields which includes personal information such as social security numbers. The company said it is not yet known whether the data in those fields originated from AT&T or one of its vendors and the source of the data is still being assessed.
AT&T said it has launched a “robust” investigation supported by internal and external cybersecurity experts. Based on its preliminary analysis, the carrier said the data set appears to be from 2019 or earlier, impacting approximately 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and approximately 65.4 million former account holders.
“Currently, AT&T does not have evidence of unauthorized access to its systems resulting in exfiltration of the data set,” the company said in a statement. “The company is communicating proactively with those impacted and will be offering credit monitoring at our expense where applicable. We encourage current and former customers with questions to visit www.att.com/accountsafety for more information.”
The company’s wireless 5G network covers around 290 million people across the United States. The announcement comes on the heels of a widespread network outage in February that disrupted calls and text messages across the U.S. that resulted in federal investigations.
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