AT&T offers security measures to customers following massive data leak: Reports

An AT&T telecommunication logo is seen at the entrance of a building in Washington, D.C. on June 11, 2019.
An AT&T telecommunication logo is seen at the entrance of a building in Washington, D.C. on June 11, 2019.

AT&T is trying to make customers feel more at ease by offering security perks after the sensitive information of more than 70 million people was leaked on the dark web in late March.

The telecom giant said that 7.6 million current customers and 65.4 million former customers were affected by the breech, USA TODAY previously reported. The compromised data may have included personal information, like Social Security numbers from AT&T data-specific fields from 2019 or earlier, but did not contain “personal financial information or call history.”

It wasn’t immediately known whether the “data in those fields originated from AT&T or from one one of its vendors.” They were still investigating the incident.

The company contacted all 7.6 million impacted current customers after “a number of AT&T passcodes” were compromised, opting to reset the passcodes as a “safety precaution.”

They also offered complimentary identity theft and credit monitoring services, a service they continue to offer in addition other new features, like a $1 million insurance policy and help from an identity restoration team, according to reporting by KPRC-TV.

Here’s what we know.

What is AT&T offering customers following data leak?

AT&T will be offering customers a number of features, including, “one year of complimentary credit monitoring, identity theft detection, and resolution services; an insurance policy of up to $1 million in coverage in the event of identity theft; access to an identity restoration team,” according to KPRC-TV.

In addition to resetting passcodes, the company has also reached out to affected customers, saying they had “emailed and mailed letters to individuals with compromised sensitive personal information separately and offering complimentary identity theft and credit monitoring services,” according to the AT&T website. 

AT&T also has encouraged customers to “remain vigilant,” monitoring account activity, reviewing credit reports, and reporting suspicious activity.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What security features is AT&T offering in wake of massive data leak?

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