9 million AT&T customer accounts breached – Is your data included?

Over 9 million AT&T customers have been notified of a data breach exposing their data shared with the company. Those that use its services have likely received an alert detailing the attack. We recommend checking your inbox to see if you’ve gotten the message.

Here’s what you need to know if you’ve been affected.

Is your personal information in jeopardy?

According to AT&T’s data breach notification, the problem began when a third-party marketing vendor was attacked by hackers earlier this year. Fortunately, much of the data procured through the breach appears only to include customers’ business with AT&T. 

Data in the breach includes first names, wireless account numbers, phone numbers and email addresses.

While the personal data exposed may seem tame compared to other data disasters, it’s worth mentioning that information of this nature could lead to a stolen identity. The brand promises that if any customer information is found on the Dark Web, the affected party will be notified immediately.

AT&T is urging you to be responsive to security alerts coming from the defensive measures it has in place. The company also asks that anybody impacted be on the lookout for suspicious phishing messages and change their passwords immediately, just in case.

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What to do following a data breach

Data breaches don’t end with the breach. Cybercriminals will pursue other avenues to exploit the situation. Whenever there is a massive data breach, taking action is critical. Here are some things to do following a data breach:

• Beware of phishing emails hitting your inbox. Scammers piggyback on breaches by sending malicious emails to trick you into clicking their links that supposedly have important information. Look out for strange URLs, return addresses and spelling/grammar errors.
• Keep an eye on your banking statements for any unusual transactions. If you see anything strange, notify your bank immediately.
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for all your online accounts that offer it. This will make it more difficult for hackers to access your accounts. 
• Check haveibeenpwned.com. Enter your email address into this online database to reveal which data breaches you might be involved in.
• Create strong, original passwords for all your accounts and don’t reuse any. 
• Always have a trusted antivirus program updated and running on all your devices.