Hackers Leak 86 Million AT&T Records with Decrypted SSNs

Hackers Leak 86 Million AT&T Records with Decrypted SSNs

Hackers have leaked what they claim is AT&T’s database which was reportedly stolen by the ShinyHunters group in April 2024 after they exploited major security flaws in the Snowflake cloud data platform.

The exposed information includes full names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses 43,989,219 Social Security Numbers (SSNs). Hackread.com reports that the data, originally encrypted, has been fully decrypted by the threat actors, meaning that SSNs and dates of birth are now circulating in plain text.

 

I often wonder, how do we take the value out of this data? We obviously can't protect our data, so if it could be made worthless somehow, we'd put the scammers out of work.

 

Changing social security numbers and driver license numbers periodically will render these leaks worthless. In US, if you want to open a new account, get a loan, buy a house, buy insurance etc., you need a valid social security number and/or a valid drivers license number. If these numbers are not valid, you are safe from any leaked data. Unfortunately, right now this is not legally possible.

In short term, putting a freeze on your three bureau credit report will stop most ID thefts that require a credit check. When you need to open a new account yourself, temporarily lift the freeze for a short term, and then put the freeze back on.

 

To add to @Raza0007 comment about security freeze, it really isn't as troublesome as some (people I know) think. When you are doing something and you know the other party will be doing a credit check, just ask which credit bureau they will be using. Then, temporarily lift the freeze on you at that credit bureau. You can even set the time period (say 24 or 48 hours) when you process the temporary lift. Just turn on the freeze with each -- I think three -- of the major credit bureaus. Also, when you set up the freeze and choose or are issued a PIN or code, write it down and save yourself troubles later if you don't have it.