Photo by Markus Spiske
AT&T has discovered that “AT&T data-specific fields were contained in a data set” that was leaked onto the dark web by unknown entities. The data leak happened around two weeks ago, according to AT&T. Over 70 million account holder’s personal information was contained within the leak, and this unfortunately includes social security numbers. AT&T should be notifying all affected account holders, so keep an eye out for an email or physical envelope if you think you may have been affected.
What is the “dark web” you might ask? According to the HHS Cybersecurity Program, the dark web is “technically, overlay networks that use the internet and require specific
software or credentials to access.” Basically, these are websites that aren’t indexed by any search engines, and require special software to access. These anonymous channels are used for both good and bad (sometimes very illegal) activity.
Sources:
AT&T addresses recent data set released on the dark web. AT&T News, Wireless and Network Information. (2024, March 30). https://about.att.com/story/2024/addressing-data-set-released-on-dark-web.html
Grantham-Philips, W. (2024, March 31). AT&T says a data breach leaked millions of customers’ information online. were you affected? AP News. https://apnews.com/article/att-data-breach-was-i-affected-f0dda2b1d266a6068ffc607afd94b779
The dark web and cybercrime. (HHS Cybersecurity Program). https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/dark-web-and-cybercrime.pdf
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