Contractors grab AT&T mobile customer data

A third party provider retrieved the Social Security numbers and other sensitive data of an undisclosed number of clients apparently to unlock smartphones and resell them.

The week of 6/9, the telecom giant filed, in the state of California, a breach notification about the April incident.

“The stolen information includes Social Security numbers and call records, i.e. details about the date, time, duration and other phone number for every phone call customers make,” Tom’s Guide reports.

The attackers are believed to have hacked an AT&T database to get “unlock codes” for the customers’ phones, which can allow thieves to disconnect stolen phones from the AT&T network, and enable the phones to reconnect to other mobile networks. “This makes the phone far more valuable in secondhand markets,” Tom’s Guide adds.