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AT&T says hackers stole 2022 call and text data from 'nearly all' cell customers

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

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Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

new video loaded: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

The first battle of the midterm elections will be the U.S. Senate primary in Texas. Our Texas bureau chief, David Goodman, explains why Democrats and Republicans across the U.S. are watching closely to see what happens in the state.

By J. David Goodman, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, June Kim and Luke Piotrowski

March 1, 2026

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Mass shooting at Austin, Texas bar leaves at least 3 dead, 14 wounded, authorities say

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Mass shooting at Austin, Texas bar leaves at least 3 dead, 14 wounded, authorities say

Gunfire rang out at a bar in Austin, Texas, early Sunday and at least three people were killed, the city’s police chief said.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis told reporters the shooter was killed by officers at the scene. 

Fourteen others were hospitalized and three were in critical condition, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said.

“We received a call at 1:39 a.m. and within 57 seconds, the first paramedics and officers were on scene actively treating the patients,” Luckritz said.

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There was no initial word on the shooter’s identity or motive.

An Austin police officer guards the scene on West 6th Street at West Avenue after a shooting on Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Austin, Texas.

Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP


Davis noted how fortunate it was that there was a heavy police presence in Austin’s entertainment district at the time, enabling officers to respond quickly as bars were closing.

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“Officers immediately transitioned … and were faced with the individual with a gun,” Davis said. “Three of our officers returned fire, killing the suspect.”

She called the shooting a “tragic, tragic” incident.

Texas Bar Shooting

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis provides a briefing after a shooting on Sunday, March 1, 2026, near West Sixth Street and Nueces in downtown Austin, Texas.

Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP


Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said his heart goes out to the victims, and he praised the swift response of first responders.

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“They definitely saved lives,” he said.

Davis said federal law enforcement is aiding the investigation.

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A long-buried recording and the Supreme Court of old (CT+) : Consider This from NPR

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A long-buried recording and the Supreme Court of old (CT+) : Consider This from NPR
Recently, movie critic Bob Mondello brought us a story about how he found a 63-year-old recording of his father arguing a case before the Supreme Court. The next day, he bumped into Nina Totenberg, NPR’s legal affairs correspondent, in the newsroom. They were talking so animatedly that we ushered them into a studio to continue the conversation.To unlock this and other bonus content — and listen to every episode sponsor-free — sign up for NPR+ at plus.npr.org. Regular episodes haven’t changed and remain available every weekday.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
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