In a time where privacy and security is such a prevalent issue, the protection of user’s data and information is of extreme importance. Only recently Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s Eric Schmidt traded verbal blows in interviews over whose company, products and business model was better equipped to deal with privacy and the protection of data. However, today’s news suggests carriers shouldn’t be overlooked in terms of data safety and security.
AT&T have today announced (and apologized) for a recent security breach which may have affected an undisclosed number of its customers. Unlike other breaches that we hear like the recent Apple celeb hacks (aka The Fappening), AT&T’s breach seemed to be a lot closer to home. The carrier regretfully announced that one of their employees accessed the account information of a number of customers. According to AT&T the breach occurred back in August of this year and during the breach the employee would have had access to customers account information including Social Security numbers and Driver Licence numbers. Not to mention the individual would have also had access to the affected customers AT&T purchases and services. The news of the breach was provided by AT&T in a sample letter posted on the Vermont Attorney General’s website. The letter penned by AT&T’s Michael Chiaramonte acknowledged the security breach and advised due to the nature of the breach the individual has been removed from the company. In addition, the letter strongly advises those who have a passcode on their account to change it and those who do not have a passcode to add one to further strengthen the security of their account.
As a means to try to rectify the situation Chiaramonte advises that any unauthorized activity on customer’s accounts will be reversed. In addition, AT&T will offer one year’s free credit monitoring with CSID (an identity protection and fraud detection company). Chiaramonte adds that the payment has already been made for the CSID service although it is up to the affected customers to actually enroll themselves to start the service. If you are one of the affected AT&T customers you may have already been contacted by AT&T regarding the breach. AT&T did not provide any information on the number of affected customers, but apparently it is only a ‘limited number’ of customers. Either way if you are an AT&T subscriber it may be best to change (or add) passcodes just in case. Not to mention to also make sure to keep an eye on your bills for any charges that are not right. For further information on the breach or what to do next you can read the AT&T letter in full by clicking here.