AT&T is facing severe criticism following a substantial data breach where hackers accessed the call records of “NEARLY ALL” its mobile subscribers, totaling approximately 109 million individuals.
This doesn’t just affect AT&T customers, it affects everyone those customers have interacted with.
In a statement to Reclaim The Net, the telecommunications giant confirmed that the breach occurred between April 14 and April 25, 2024, involving its Snowflake storage. Snowflake, a provider that facilitates large-scale data warehousing and analytics in the cloud, is now under scrutiny for security lapses in the wake of multiple breaches facilitated by stolen credentials.
Recently, the security firm Mandiant identified a financially motivated hacker group, known as “UNC5537” targeting Snowflake users. This has led to a series of data thefts, prompting Snowflake to implement stricter security measures, including mandatory multi-factor authentication for its administrators.
The stolen data includes call and text metadata from May 1 to October 31, 2022, and a specific breach on January 2, 2023. This metadata encompasses telephone numbers, interaction counts, and aggregate call durations, affecting not only AT&T’s direct customers but also those of various mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
AT&T took immediate action upon discovering the breach, engaging with cybersecurity experts and contacting the FBI. According to an official statement, the FBI, along with the Department of Justice (DOJ), evaluated the breach’s implications on national security and public safety, which led to delays in public disclosure sanctioned on May 9 and June 5, 2024. The FBI emphasized its role in assisting victims of cyberattacks and the importance of early communication with law enforcement in such incidents.
“We have taken steps to close off the illegal access point,” AT&T continued in its statement. “We are working with law enforcement in its efforts to arrest those involved in the incident. We understand that at least one person has been apprehended.”
Customers should take several proactive steps to protect their personal information and reduce potential risks:
Be Wary of Phishing Attempts
Hackers may attempt to use stolen data to craft convincing phishing emails or texts. Customers should be cautious about unsolicited communications asking for personal information or urging them to click on suspicious links.
Use MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)
While passwords were not compromised in this breach, enabling MFA where available can enhance security on all digital accounts. Avoid using text messages as a form of account verification. This is when a company sends you a code by text message that you have to use to access your account. It’s much safer to use a 2-factor authentication app.
Avoid Using Standard Phone Calls and SMS Text Messages as Much as Possible
Phone carriers, by virtue of their central role in facilitating communications, inherently collect and store vast amounts of metadata related to phone calls and text messages. This metadata, which includes details such as call times, durations, and the numbers involved, can be highly sensitive. Despite its non-content nature, metadata can reveal intricate details about a person’s life, habits, and social networks. Here are some reasons why phone carriers are often more vulnerable to metadata leaks:
Large Data Stores: Phone carriers manage enormous volumes of data daily. Each call or text generates metadata that is logged and stored. The sheer volume of this data makes it a significant target for hackers, and managing its security can be challenging.
Regulatory Requirements: Carriers are often required by law to retain metadata for certain periods for lawful intercept capabilities and other regulatory reasons. This obligation to store data can increase the risk of breaches, as older, possibly less secure systems may be used for storage.
Complex Systems and Integration: The infrastructure of telecom companies is complex and often integrated with various legacy systems and third-party services. Each integration point can introduce vulnerabilities, potentially offering hackers multiple entry points to access and extract data.
Insufficient Encryption Practices: While the content of communications might be encrypted, the metadata often is not. This oversight can leave sensitive information exposed to anyone who gains unauthorized access to the system.
High Value for Surveillance and Advertising: Metadata is extremely valuable for surveillance purposes, as well as for targeted advertising. This makes it a lucrative target for unauthorized actors, including state-sponsored groups and cybercriminals looking to monetize the data.
Delayed Disclosure: Carriers might delay disclosing data breaches due to ongoing investigations or national security implications, as seen in the AT&T breach. This delay can exacerbate the problem, increasing the window during which stolen data can be misused.
Underestimation of Metadata Sensitivity: There is often a misconception that metadata is not as sensitive as direct communication content. This misunderstanding can lead to less rigorous security measures being applied to protect this type of data.
Economic and Technical Resources: Despite having significant resources, phone carriers may prioritize cost-saving measures over the implementation of state-of-the-art security solutions. Additionally, updating and securing sprawling networks can be technically challenging and expensive.
Use end-to-end encrypted apps to communicate instead and encourage family and friends to do the same.
Using apps that offer end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is crucial for maintaining privacy and security, especially in the wake of breaches like the one experienced by AT&T, where call data was exposed.
Here’s why E2EE apps are a better choice:
Enhanced Privacy Protection: End-to-end encryption ensures that messages, calls, and files are encrypted on the sender’s device and only decrypted on the recipient’s device. This means that no one in between, not even the service providers or potential interceptors, can read or listen to the content. This is crucial when the metadata (like call logs and contact numbers) is exposed, as the content of the communications remains secure.
Security Against Interception: E2EE is particularly important for protecting against potential eavesdropping. Even if a hacker can access transmission lines or servers, they cannot decrypt the encrypted data without the unique keys held only by the sender and receiver.
Prevention of Third-Party Access: In cases where service providers are subpoenaed for user data, they cannot hand over what they do not have access to. E2EE means the service provider does not have the decryption keys and therefore cannot access the content of the communications, offering an additional layer of legal protection.
Reduced Risk of Data Breaches: If a data breach occurs and encrypted data is stolen, the information remains protected because it is unreadable without the decryption keys. This significantly reduces the risk associated with data theft.
Trust and Compliance: Using E2EE can help companies build trust with their customers by showing a commitment to privacy and security. It can also help in complying with privacy regulations and standards, which increasingly mandate the protection of personal data.
Mitigation of Damage from Breaches: While encryption does not prevent data from being stolen, it devalues the data, making it useless to the thief. This is particularly important in incidents where sensitive information is at risk of being exposed.
Given these advantages, users are strongly advised to prefer communication apps and services that offer robust end-to-end encryption. This not only protects the content of their communications but also serves as a critical defense mechanism in today’s digital and often vulnerable cyber landscape.
AT&T has provided a FAQ page where customers can find out if their data was involved in the breach. It’s important for customers to use these resources to assess their exposure.
