AT&T paid hackers to delete info stolen in last week's data breach

If you're an AT&T wireless customer, pay attention because there's a good chance hackers have accessed some of your information.

For the second time in three months, the company has announced a major data breach – this one affecting "nearly all AT&T cellular customers." The compromised data includes phone numbers plus counts of calls or texts and total call durations from May 1, 2022, to October 31, 2022, and on January 2, 2023.

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AT&T blamed the breach on a third-party cloud platform. Speaking to The Verge, the company said that cloud software Snowflake was the source of the problem. Snowflake, according to The Verge, blamed customers for not using multi-factor authentication.

Hackers did not gain access to the content of calls and texts. Names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information weren't a part of the breach either, but it's fairly easy to attach a name to a phone number these days with a quick Google search.

AT&T said it has secured the affected access point. The company doesn't believe the data is publicly available at this time and is working with law enforcement to track down the responsible parties. Authorities have apprehended at least one suspect. In addition, Wired reported that AT&T paid the hackers $300,000 to delete the stolen information and provide video proof. 

If your account was affected by this hack, you'll get a text, email, or US mail from AT&T. The carrier also has a tool you can use to check your account or to get a list of your compromised texts and calls.

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What should you do if you're among the affected? Given this particular breach didn't involve direct personal information or passwords, there's nothing you need to do right away. That said, it's not a bad idea to freeze your credit anyway until you need to apply for something.

If you're considering switching to an encrypted texting app, here's a look at our recommendations.