AT&T suffers another major data breach, this one affecting 'nearly all' wireless customers

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. 

Also: AT&T resets passcodes for 7.6 million customers after data leak 

AT&T blamed the breach on a third-party cloud platform. Speaking to The Verge, it said 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.

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

Also: How to freeze your credit (and why you might want to)

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. 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.