Astonishing Data Breach: Hackers Steal 50 Billion Call and Text Records from AT&T
Brook.X
In a shocking revelation, law enforcement agencies from Canada and Turkey have arrested two hackers responsible for a massive data breach of AT&T, one of America's leading network operators. Earlier this year, in April, the duo infiltrated the cloud data storage services of Snowflake, making off with an eye-popping trove of data belonging to AT&T.
Initially, AT&T acknowledged the breach, estimating the loss at approximately 110 million records. However, in a desperate move to mitigate the damage, the company paid the hackers a ransom of at least $370,000, hoping to ensure the deletion of the stolen data.
The arrested hackers, identified as Moucka from Canada and Binns from Turkey, orchestrated their cyberattacks from November 2023 to October 2024, amassing 36 bitcoins (valued at around $2.5 million at the time of payment).
Snowflake, a service utilized by a plethora of American firms for data storage, confirmed that the breach extended beyond AT&T, affecting data from around 160 other companies, albeit on a smaller scale.
The scale of the AT&T breach is indeed staggering, with the final tally reaching 50 billion records, encompassing call and text logs. It's crucial to note that the breach did not include the content of the communications, but rather the metadata - who texted or called whom.
Initially, the disclosure of 110 million records was alarming enough, suggesting AT&T was not misleading the public. Yet, the eventual disclosure of 50 billion records underscores the severity of the breach.
This metadata alone is sufficient to unravel the social and familial connections of millions of Americans, assuming they use standard telecommunications services.
In response to the potential ramifications of this breach, the U.S. Department of Justice has swiftly initiated legal proceedings against the two arrested hackers. With the case still under judicial review, it's anticipated that the culprits will face severe penalties and be ordered to return their ill-gotten gains.
