AT&T pays ransom for stolen call logs after culprit’s detainment

AT&T reportedly paid a $370,000 ransom to a hacker who stole the call and text logs of over 100 million customers. The breach, allegedly executed by the ShinyHunters hacking group, included metadata such as telephone numbers, counts of interactions, and call durations. However, it did not involve the actual content of messages or recordings.

The hacker, who claims to have worked with known hacker John Erin Binns, provided evidence of the ransom payment to WIRED and Bloomberg. AT&T did not comment on the alleged payment made in May. The stolen data, originating from AT&T’s Snowflake account, was revealed to have impacted nearly all call logs and texts made by AT&T and its MVNO customers over a six-month period in 2022.

Security experts have raised alarms over the potential misuse of this data, particularly the cell tower information that could be used to pinpoint locations. The breach is considered highly significant due to the value of call data records (CDRs) in intelligence analysis and potential corporate espionage. The incident follows other high-profile breaches, such as those experienced by T-Mobile in 2023 and 2021, highlighting ongoing vulnerabilities in telecom security.