AT&T, the U.S. telecom giant, is reeling after its customer phone records were targeted by cyber criminals in one of the largest data breaches ever reported.

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The company confirmed that the breach allowed hackers to steal phone records of “nearly all AT&T customers.” AT&T published a website to provide more information for its customers about the incident and also disclosed the data breach in a filing with regulators.

It said that the breach occurred between May 1, 2022 and October 31, 2022, and subsequently more data was stolen from January 2, 2023. By February 2023, AT&T had detected the breach.

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Andrea Huguely, an AT&T spokesperson confirmed in a statement to TechCrunch that the data was taken from the cloud provider Snowflake during a recent spate of hacking incidents targeting Snowflake’s clients.

It is unclear why AT&T’s customer data was being stored in Snowflake, and the spokesperson declined to provide more details.

Snowflake blamed the data breaches on its clients for not using multi-factor authentication to secure their accounts despite being offered the service, and customers are calling them out for their negligence.

This is not the first time AT&T customers’ data has been compromised. Earlier this year, AT&T was compromised in another data breach resulting in the company resetting the account passcodes of millions of its customers, after a cache of customer account information – including encrypted passcodes to access accounts – was published on a cybercrime forum.

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A security researcher confirmed then that the encryption could be easily decrypted, prompting AT&T to take quicker action this time to secure customer accounts.

AT&T said then, “Securing customer information is a top priority for us, and we took immediate steps to safeguard our customers’ accounts as soon as we became aware of this issue.”

You can read AT&T’s full release below:

Unlawful access of customer data
Find out what we’ve learned, how we’re responding, and how we’re working to keep your personal data safe.

What happened
We learned that AT&T customer data was illegally downloaded from our workspace on a third-party cloud platform. We started an investigation and engaged leading cybersecurity experts to help us determine the nature and scope of the issue. We have confirmed the access point has been secured.

Our investigation found that the downloaded data included phone call and text message records of nearly all of AT&T cellular customers from May 1, 2022 to October 31, 2022 as well as on January 2, 2023. These records identify other phone numbers that an AT&T wireless number interacted with during this time, including AT&T landline (home phone) customers. For a subset of the records, one or more cell site ID numbers associated with the interactions are also included.

At this time, we do not believe the data is publicly available. We continue to work with law enforcement in their efforts to arrest those involved. Based on information available to us, we understand that at least one person has been apprehended.

 

Data that was involved
The call and text records identify the phone numbers with which an AT&T number interacted during this period, including AT&T landline (home phone) customers. It also included counts of those calls or texts and total call durations for specific days or months.

We’ll notify current and former customers if their information was involved.

 

Data that wasn’t involved
The downloaded data doesn’t include the content of any calls or texts. It doesn’t have the time stamps for the calls or texts. It also doesn’t have any details such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information.

While the data doesn’t include customer names, there are often ways to find a name associated with a phone number using publicly available online tools.
What we are doing
Protecting your data is one of our top priorities. We have confirmed the affected access point has been secured.

We hold ourselves to a high standard and commit to delivering the experience that you deserve. We constantly evaluate and enhance our security to address changing cybersecurity threats and work to create a secure environment for you. We invest in our network’s security using a broad array of resources including people, capital, and innovative technology advancements.