Mum’s the word from AT&T on customer data leak

New Evidence Points to Authenticity of AT&T Data Breach

According to recent findings, it seems that the 2018 AT&T data breach may have been even more widespread than initially thought. After the hacker who first claimed responsibility for the attack released a small sample of the leaked records, a full dataset containing the personal information of 73 million AT&T customers has now been dumped online.

Despite AT&T’s reassurances in 2018 that the leaked data did not appear to come from their systems, a new analysis confirms that the data is indeed authentic. Several customers have verified that their personal information is accurate in the leaked dataset, further supporting the credibility of the breach.

“We have no indications of a compromise of our systems,” AT&T spokesperson Stephen Stokes stated. However, the telecom giant has yet to reveal how this massive data breach occurred.

Initially, the hacker only published a small portion of the leaked records, making it challenging to verify the authenticity of the data. But now, security researcher Troy Hunt, owner of data breach notification site Have I Been Pwned, has obtained a full copy of the dataset and confirmed its legitimacy by contacting AT&T customers and cross-checking their information.

• The leaked dataset contains 49 million unique email addresses.
• The hacked data also includes 44 million Social Security numbers.
• Additionally, dates of birth for AT&T customers were also exposed in the data breach.

When asked for comment, AT&T spokesperson Stokes maintained their previous stance. “We have determined that the information offered on this online forum did not come from our systems,” he stated.

However, upon further inquiry, AT&T has yet to respond to requests for clarification on the validity and origin of the leaked data. This raises questions about whether or not the telecom giant is entirely certain of the source of the breach.

“We can’t say for sure where the data came from,” Hunt explains in a blog post detailing his analysis. “It’s possible that it originated from AT&T, a third-party processor they use, or an entirely unrelated entity.”

Three years have passed since the initial data breach was reported, and yet the source and scope of the attack are still shrouded in mystery. With millions of customers’ personal information at risk, it is concerning that AT&T has been unable to provide a satisfactory explanation or solution.

This situation highlights the importance of quickly and thoroughly investigating data breaches and leaks. Given the amount of time that has passed, AT&T should be able to provide more information about how their customers’ data was compromised and what steps they are taking to prevent similar incidents in the future.