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AT&T says hackers stole 2022 call and text data from 'nearly all' cell customers
AT&T announced on Friday that cellular customers’ text and call data from 2022 was illegally downloaded onto a third-party cloud platform back in April.
Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty Images
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Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty Images
AT&T says hackers stole data from “nearly all” of its cellular customers over several months in 2022 and downloaded it illegally onto a third-party cloud platform.
The Dallas-based telecommunications company announced the massive data breach in a regulatory filing and press release on Friday morning, which said it believes the data is no longer publicly available.
“AT&T has taken additional cybersecurity measures in response to this incident including closing off the point of unlawful access,” it added.
The company wrote that it first learned of the incident in April, but the U.S. Justice Department determined in May and again in June that “a delay in providing public disclosure was warranted” until now.
AT&T’s investigation found that an unspecified number of “threat actors” exfiltrated files in April containing the records of phone calls and text messages of “nearly all AT&T cellular customers” between May and October 2022, as well as a smaller number of customers on Jan. 2, 2023.
An AT&T spokesperson described the information taken as “aggregated metadata,” holding information about the calls and texts but not their contents.
The records identify other telephone numbers with which affected customers interacted, including AT&T landline numbers, as well as counts of those calls and texts and the total call durations for specific days or months.
“For a subset of the records, one or more cell site ID numbers associated with the interactions are also included,” it adds.
AT&T says the data does not include the substance or time stamps of those calls and texts, nor birthdays, social security numbers or other “personally identifiable information.” Though there is a catch.
“While the data does not include customer names, there are often ways, using publicly available online tools, to find the name associated with a specific telephone number,” it cautions.
AT&T says it is working with law enforcement to arrest the perpetrators, and “understands that at least one person has been apprehended” so far.
The company says it will notify impacted users by text, email or U.S. mail, and has also set up a webpage where current and former customers can check to see if their information was involved.
Those affected can follow an online process to obtain the phone numbers of their calls and texts in the downloaded data. AT&T says the option to request that information will be in place through the end of this year.
And for those concerned about potential phishing and online fraud, it offers some evergreen advice, including not replying to a text from an unknown sender with personal details and making sure websites are secure by looking for the “s” after “http” in the address.
It adds that customers who suspect suspicious text activity should forward the message to AT&T, and report any suspected fraud on their AT&T wireless account to its team.
This is not the first data breach that AT&T has reported this year.
It said in March that it had reset the passcodes of about 7.6 million users after it discovered a dataset on the “dark web” containing Social Security numbers and other personal information of some 70 million current and former account holders.
Separately, AT&T gave $5 to certain customers affected by a nearly 12-hour nationwide outage back in February.
Verizon, Ticketmaster, Dell and Bank of America are among the other companies that have reported major data breaches this year, affecting millions of people altogether.
Bob Kafka, a disabled Vietnam veteran, talks with an Austin Police Officer as he and others try to enter a hotel property.
Ilana Panich-Linsman/Getty Images
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Bob Kafka, a renowned disability rights advocate, died at his Austin, Texas, home on Friday. He was 79 years old.
Kafka was an organizer with ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today), a group which advocates for policy change to support people with disabilities.
Mark Johnson, co-founder of ADAPT and a longtime friend of Kafka who confirmed his death, told NPR Kafka’s advocacy was as much about changing laws as it was changing lives.
“Maybe it was helping somebody tie their shoes and the next moment, maybe it was helping feed them, or maybe it was raising money through the fun run, or maybe it was negotiating with federal officials,” said Johnson.
Kafka was born in New York City, but spent most of his life in Texas. He was an Army veteran and fought in the Vietnam War.
Since being paralyzed from a 1973 car accident, Kafka, alongside his wife, Stephanie Thomas, prioritized seeking dignity for those with disabilities and helping others adjust to their new lives. Kafka could be seen at disability rights protests sporting a halo of white curls and an unruly beard.
“Very, very rarely do you find people that can, can do what needs to be done and not go around boasting about it,” said Johnson.
He also recalled the selfless nature of the community Kafka fostered, including how Thomas’ first instinct was to ask how he was feeling about losing a friend.
“I’m going, ‘Wait a minute, I’m calling you to ask you how you are,’” Johnson said.
Johnson remembered Kafka as a policy wonk who was as interested in the mechanics of federal bureaucracy as grassroots organizing. He said he hopes his friend will be honored for his work to influence change at all levels.
“If you mention disability to an average crowd, it’s gonna, think of something negative. Bob and others may help people make that shift,” Johnson said.
“They say claiming your identity – your full identity – can be very powerful, very liberating. And I think Bob was one of those people that’s been doing that for 50 years.”
A man cleans off his car of snow in Brooklyn after an overnight storm on Dec. 27, 2025 in New York City.
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A powerful winter storm is bringing extreme weather to the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast this weekend.
The National Weather Service (NWS) says the system will intensify over the next few days and conditions are expected through Tuesday.
“Arctic air will descend into the Plains beginning Sunday followed by a potent winter storm across the upper Midwest to the Great Lakes Sunday night to Monday,” according to a bulletin from the NWS posted on Saturday.
Heavy snow and whiteout conditions are forecasted across parts of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region, causing “treacherous travel,” the NWS said. More than a foot of snow could fall along Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Western New York and Northwest Pennsylvania are expected to receive lake-effect snow.
The storm has slammed the Northeast, dumping up to nearly 8 inches of snow on New York City and surrounding areas between Friday and Saturday. The weather snarled traffic along the I-95 corridor and disrupted air travel. Flight tracker, Flightaware.com, showed more than 1,000 delays across U.S. airports on Saturday evening. Nearly 1,000 flights were cancelled into, out of and within the U.S. as of Saturday evening.
The NWS is also warning of dangerous ice across parts of the Northeast, including ice accumulation of up to a quarter of an inch in eastern New York, parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Bitter wind chills as low as -35 degrees are expected in parts of North Dakota and up to -25 degrees in northern Minnesota.
Meanwhile, it will feel more like spring across parts of the South and into the Tennessee Valley, where temperatures could reach highs in the 70s for this time of year, according to forecasters.
News
Roads could remain slick, icy Saturday morning in Philadelphia area, tracking another storm on the way
Roads and sidewalks could be slick Saturday morning after the region saw a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain overnight.
Thankfully, temperatures will get above freezing during the day, but there could be black ice overnight — and we’re tracking more precipitation still to come for your weekend.
Planning your Saturday
Slick roads and icy conditions continue into this afternoon, although we will see some good melting in many spots that hover above freezing.
Tonight, everyone will dip below freezing again, so expect wet areas to become icy. Black ice will be a problem overnight and into early Sunday.
Saturday trends quieter overall, but travel remains an issue early. We’ve wrapped up our NEXT Weather Alert for this morning, with no additional wintry precipitation expected. Clouds lift through the day, though it stays seasonably cold and breezy.
Planning your Sunday
Sunday will start out cold but dry, a good time to get a run out to the store to get some groceries or return some gifts (the earlier, the better, as another weather maker arrives Sunday evening into Monday).
It’s a warmer system, so we’ll go from salting the driveway to needing the umbrellas, especially on Monday.
The NEXT big weather change
Sunday turns milder as a warm front lifts north, bringing rain late in the day into Sunday night. Any brief freezing rain risk stays confined to the southern Poconos and far northwest New Jersey.
Monday is the highest-impact day, with temperatures surging into the 50s and low 60s ahead of a strong cold front, followed by showers, possibly a rumble of thunder, and very strong winds. Gusts of 40 to 50 mph are possible, and wind advisories may be needed.
Looking ahead, a fast-moving system late Thursday into Friday could bring a brief window of light snow, though confidence remains low.
Restrictions on the roadways
On Friday, PennDOT restricted speeds to 45 mph on these roads because of the weather:
- Interstates 76, 95, 295, 476, 676
- U.S. Routes 1, 30, 202, 422
- State Routes 63, 100 Spur and 309
PennDOT says restrictions will be lifted as soon as conditions are safe.
In New Jersey, acting Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency across the state because of the storm.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation also enacted temporary restrictions starting Friday afternoon for tractor-trailers, empty CDL trucks, RVs, motorcycles, and passenger vehicles pulling trailers for I-78, I-80, I-280, I-287, and Route 440.
The state of emergency is in place until officials decide it’s no longer needed, an announcement from the governor’s office said.
Here’s your 7-day forecast:
Saturday: NEXT Weather Alert for morning snow and ice. High 36, low 28.
Sunday: Chance of rain late. High 40, low 26.
Monday: Mild with showers. High 56, low 36.
Tuesday: Windy and very cold. High 34, low 28.
Wednesday/New Year’s Eve: Chilly end to 2025. High 37, low 27.
Thursday/New Year’s Day: Cold start to 2026. High 32, low 27.
Friday: Still cold but dry. High 36, low 23.
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