AT&T: Difference between revisions
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{{CompanyCargo | {{CompanyCargo | ||
| Founded = 1885 | | Founded = 1885 | ||
| Industry = Telecommunications | | Industry = Telecommunications | ||
| Line 9: | Line 8: | ||
| Type = Public | | Type = Public | ||
| Website = https://att.com/ | | Website = https://att.com/ | ||
| Description = Major telecommunication company which owns several smaller telecommunication companies. Has sold user data and lied about involvement in data breeches | |||
}} | }} | ||
[[wikipedia:AT&T|'''AT&T, Inc.''']] is a major telecommunications holding company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. AT&T owns several smaller telecommunications companies, including Cricket Wireless and DIRECTV. <ref>{{Cite web |title=PRINCIPAL SUBSIDIARIES OF AT&T INC. |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/732717/000073271718000009/ex21.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251004102846/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/732717/000073271718000009/ex21.htm |archive-date=2025-10-04 |website=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission}}</ref> | |||
==Consumer impact summary== | |||
*'''Privacy -''' In 2017, the Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded AT&T with a 1 out of 5 stars privacy rating, the same as AT&T's largest competitors, Verizon and T-Mobile.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reitman |first=Rainey |date=2017-07-10 |title=Who Has Your Back? Government Data Requests 2017 |url=https://www.eff.org/who-has-your-back-2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915003333/https://www.eff.org/who-has-your-back-2017 |archive-date=2018-09-15 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation}}</ref> | |||
==Incidents== | |||
[[File:AT&T Cancel Order Page.png|thumb|The button to cancel is greyed out, with a label that suggests the button is greyed out because the user has not input an answer as to why they are cancelling. There is no input field to put such answer.]] | |||
== | ===Inability to cancel setup when the option is advertised (8/16/2025)=== | ||
The user is able to schedule service setup online though the portal. The option to cancel this scheduled setup is advertised to the user. The user is unable to cancel the plan due to the "Request cancellation" button being greyed out and inactive. | |||
= | |||
===Selling consumer data (2024)=== | ===Selling consumer data (2024)=== | ||
FCC found that all major telecommunications companies were illegally selling customer's location data. | FCC found that all major telecommunications companies were illegally selling customer's location data. FCC fined AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon nearly $200 million; AT&T's share amounted to 0.22% of their net annual income.<ref group="Video References">{{Cite web |last=Rossman |first=Louis |date=2024-04-30 |title=No Escape: EVERY US Carrier Sold Your Location Data with 0.4% Penalties from the FCC! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdZt7ox1DDs |url-status=live |website=YouTube |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=mdZt7ox1DDs |archive-date=19 Nov 2025}}</ref> | ||
===Massive data breach (March 2024)=== | ===Massive data breach (March 2024)=== | ||
In March 2024, tens of millions of records allegedly breached from AT&T were posted to a popular hacking forum.<ref>https://www.troyhunt.com/inside-the-massive-alleged-att-data-breach</ref> Dating back to August 2021, the data was originally posted for sale before later being freely released. At the time, AT&T maintained that there had not been a breach of their systems and that the data originated from elsewhere. Twelve days later, AT&T acknowledged that data fields specific to them were in the breach and that it was not yet known whether the breach occurred at their end or that of a vendor.<ref>https://about.att.com/story/2024/addressing-data-set-released-on-dark-web.html</ref> AT&T also proceeded to reset customer account | In March 2024, tens of millions of records allegedly breached from AT&T were posted to a popular hacking forum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunt |first=Troy |date=2024-03-19 |title=Inside the Massive Alleged AT&T Data Breach |url=https://www.troyhunt.com/inside-the-massive-alleged-att-data-breach/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251211134030/https://www.troyhunt.com/inside-the-massive-alleged-att-data-breach/ |archive-date=2025-12-11 |website=TroyHunt.com}}</ref> Dating back to August 2021, the data was originally posted for sale before later being freely released. At the time, AT&T maintained that there had not been a breach of their systems and that the data originated from elsewhere. Twelve days later, AT&T acknowledged that data fields specific to them were in the breach and that it was not yet known whether the breach occurred at their end or that of a vendor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-30 |title=AT&T Addresses Recent Data Set Released on the Dark Web |url=https://about.att.com/story/2024/addressing-data-set-released-on-dark-web.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251221112957/https://about.att.com/story/2024/addressing-data-set-released-on-dark-web.html |archive-date=2025-12-21 |website=AT&T}}</ref> AT&T also proceeded to reset customer account pass-codes,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whittaker |first=Zack |date=2024-03-30 |title=AT&T resets account passcodes after millions of customer records leak online |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/30/att-reset-account-passcodes-customer-data/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251223093948/https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/30/att-reset-account-passcodes-customer-data/ |archive-date=2025-12-23 |website=Tech Crunch}}</ref> an indicator that there was sufficient belief pass-codes had been compromised. The incident exposed names, email and physical addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and US Social Security numbers. | ||
==Products== | ==Products== | ||
| Line 45: | Line 34: | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[Data brokers]] | |||
* [[T-Mobile]]<br /> | |||
==References:== | ==References:== | ||
Latest revision as of 06:16, 16 February 2026
❗Article Status Notice: This Article is a stub
This article is underdeveloped, and needs additional work to meet the wiki's Content Guidelines and be in line with our Mission Statement for comprehensive coverage of consumer protection issues. Learn more ▼
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1885 |
| Legal Structure | Public |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Also known as | |
| Official website | https://att.com/ |
AT&T, Inc. is a major telecommunications holding company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. AT&T owns several smaller telecommunications companies, including Cricket Wireless and DIRECTV. [1]
Consumer impact summary
[edit | edit source]- Privacy - In 2017, the Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded AT&T with a 1 out of 5 stars privacy rating, the same as AT&T's largest competitors, Verizon and T-Mobile.[2]
Incidents
[edit | edit source]
Inability to cancel setup when the option is advertised (8/16/2025)
[edit | edit source]The user is able to schedule service setup online though the portal. The option to cancel this scheduled setup is advertised to the user. The user is unable to cancel the plan due to the "Request cancellation" button being greyed out and inactive.
Selling consumer data (2024)
[edit | edit source]FCC found that all major telecommunications companies were illegally selling customer's location data. FCC fined AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon nearly $200 million; AT&T's share amounted to 0.22% of their net annual income.[Video References 1]
Massive data breach (March 2024)
[edit | edit source]In March 2024, tens of millions of records allegedly breached from AT&T were posted to a popular hacking forum.[3] Dating back to August 2021, the data was originally posted for sale before later being freely released. At the time, AT&T maintained that there had not been a breach of their systems and that the data originated from elsewhere. Twelve days later, AT&T acknowledged that data fields specific to them were in the breach and that it was not yet known whether the breach occurred at their end or that of a vendor.[4] AT&T also proceeded to reset customer account pass-codes,[5] an indicator that there was sufficient belief pass-codes had been compromised. The incident exposed names, email and physical addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and US Social Security numbers.
Products
[edit | edit source]See also
[edit | edit source]References:
[edit | edit source]- ↑ "PRINCIPAL SUBSIDIARIES OF AT&T INC". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Archived from the original on 2025-10-04.
- ↑ Reitman, Rainey (2017-07-10). "Who Has Your Back? Government Data Requests 2017". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Archived from the original on 2018-09-15.
- ↑ Hunt, Troy (2024-03-19). "Inside the Massive Alleged AT&T Data Breach". TroyHunt.com. Archived from the original on 2025-12-11.
- ↑ "AT&T Addresses Recent Data Set Released on the Dark Web". AT&T. 2024-03-30. Archived from the original on 2025-12-21.
- ↑ Whittaker, Zack (2024-03-30). "AT&T resets account passcodes after millions of customer records leak online". Tech Crunch. Archived from the original on 2025-12-23.
Video references:
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Rossman, Louis (2024-04-30). "No Escape: EVERY US Carrier Sold Your Location Data with 0.4% Penalties from the FCC!". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 Nov 2025.