AT&T is facing three class action lawsuits accusing the telecommunications giant of failing to adequately protect its wireless customers’ information. The lawsuits, filed in federal courts in Texas, Montana, and New Jersey, allege that AT&T’s inadequate security measures left the company vulnerable to hackers who accessed its systems starting in May 2022. The breach reportedly compromised phone and text message records of nearly 110 million customers.
According to the plaintiffs, the hackers were able to download extensive records due to AT&T’s insufficient data protection. The compromised information includes call records and text communications from May 1, 2022, to October 31, 2022, and January 2, 2023. The class action lawsuits assert that AT&T knew about the vulnerabilities but failed to implement necessary security measures to safeguard customer data.
Plaintiffs, including Dina Winger, Richard Olivieri, Lauren Woon, and Chris Schulte, claim that AT&T’s negligence has put them at risk of identity theft and exploitation. They argue that AT&T did not meet its obligations to protect the personally identifiable information (PII) of its customers, who trusted the company to keep their data secure.
In response, AT&T stated that the compromised data does not include the content of calls or texts and that it does not believe the stolen data is publicly available. The company also noted that other lawsuits have been filed regarding a separate data breach affecting over 70 million customers.
Reference: