AT&T on Friday revealed a security incident that “includes files containing AT&T records of calls and texts of nearly all" of its cellular customers.
According to the company, the data was illegally downloaded from its workspace on a third-party cloud platform. The incident happened between April 14 and 25, and the compromised records contain “AT&T records of customer call and text interactions that occurred between approximately May 1 and October 31, 2022, as well as on January 2, 2023”.
Landline customers who interacted with AT&T cellular numbers between May 1, 2022 - October 31, 2022 may also be impacted, according to the company
In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission document filed Friday, AT&T stated: “The data does not contain the content of calls or texts, personal information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information. Current analysis indicates that the data includes, for these periods of time, records of calls and texts of nearly all of AT&T’s wireless customers and customers of mobile virtual network operators (“MVNO”) using AT&T’s wireless network.”
NBC 5 Responds contacted AT&T and the Federal Communications Commission to confirm the company’s mobile virtual network operators, but hadn't received a response as of Friday evening.
The FBI is also chiming in about this incident, explaining AT&T contacted the FBI and the Department of Justice when it first learned of the illegal download. According to the FBI, all three parties decided to delay making the public aware of the incident “due to potential risks to national security and/or public safety.”
Consumer Impact
NBC 5 Responds
NBC 5 Responds went to Ericka Watson, the Principal and CEO if Data Strategy Advisors, to get an understanding of what a “bad actor” can do with your phone call history.
“With the access to the call and text logs, that actor can piece together a compromised picture of an individual's personal and professional contacts, and potentially lead to some privacy invasions," Watson told NBC 5 Responds.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Watson said this could also open consumers up to imposter calls and texts from scammers.
“With this information… these actors can be a lot more crafty and impersonating someone that you may know, or even use a phone number that looks familiar to you to call your phone," she stated.
You don’t have to be an AT&T customer to be impacted by this incident. Watson explained, anyone who communicated with an AT&T customer via phone call or text message may be compromised, regardless of who your wireless carrier is.
AT&T told NBC 5 Responds, as of Friday, it did not believe any of the compromised data is publicly available.
The company was notifying current and former customers who may be impacted. You can visit the company’s website to see if your data was involved, and find instructions for obtaining copies of those records.
