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The regulator said the operator had not done enough to protect consumer data
This week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reached a settlement with telco giant AT&T, fining them $13 million for their lack of oversight over customers’ data security.
Back in January 2023, bad actors gained access to the data of 8.9 million AT&T customers via a cyberattack on an unnamed third-party cloud vendor.
According to the FCC, this vendor was used by AT&T “to generate and host personalized video content, including billing and marketing videos” for the affected customers.
As part of the vendor’s service agreement with AT&T, the company was required to destroy or return customer data once it was not longer needed. However, the FCC claims that AT&T did not enforce these obligations, thereby creating the conditions for the data theft to take place.
Customer data stolen included that from the period 2015 to 2017, which should have been deleted in 2017 or 2018.
Today, following an investigation, the FCC has fined AT&T $13 million for its failure to protect consumer data.
“The Communications Act makes clear that carriers have a duty to protect the privacy and security of consumer data, and that responsibility takes on new meaning for digital age data breaches,” said FCC chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel. “Carriers must take additional precautions given their access to sensitive information, and we will remain vigilant in ensuring that’s the case no matter which provider a customer chooses.”
As part of the settlement with the FCC, AT&T will be required to increase its data security and supply chain integrity practices, as well a carry out annual compliance audits.
It is worth noting that this is not the only cybersecurity breach of AT&T being investigated by the FCC. Earlier this summer, AT&T revealed a data breach that took place in April affecting roughly 109 million customers – almost the company’s entire subscriber base.
The FCC’s investigation into this incident is still ongoing.
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