AT&T revealed over the weekend that the data of 73 million customers, including social security numbers, had been compromised in a data breach—a hack some media outlets state was reported back in 2021.
In a statement posted to its website, AT&T said that a recent data set released on the dark web approximately two weeks ago contained data from its customers. At this time, it’s not clear whether the hackers were able to breach AT&T systems or those belonging to one of its vendors, the company added. The data obtained by the hackers contained social security numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, AT&T account numbers, and AT&T passcodes.
Of the 73 million people affected, 65.4 million were former AT&T customers. In the case of the 7.6 million current customers, AT&T has automatically reset their passcodes. Passcodes are four-digit codes used by AT&T customers to add an extra layer of security to their accounts, in addition to their passwords, and are presented during some operations such as calling customer service. Customers whose passcodes have been reset have been contacted by AT&T.
Furthermore, AT&T explained that the data set appeared to contain information from 2019 or earlier. In its statement, AT&T indicated that it would be taking measures to help those potentially affected, such as offering complimentary identity theft and credit monitoring services.
“Currently, AT&T does not have evidence of unauthorized access to its systems resulting in exfiltration of the data set,” the company said. “The company is communicating proactively with those impacted and will be offe

Courtney Milan writes books about carriages, corsets, and smartwatches. Her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. She is a New York Times and a USA Today Bestseller.
Courtney pens a weekly newsletter about tea, books, and basically anything and everything else.
Before she started writing romance, Courtney got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.
Courtney is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.