AT&T agrees to $177 million settlement over major data breaches

In the United States, AT&T has faced significant legal challenges stemming from a pair of data breaches that occurred in 2022. These breaches involved the unauthorized copying of call logs from AT&T's workspace, impacting nearly all current customers and many former customers. Recent investigations revealed that approximately 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former account holders may have been affected by the exposed data, which was later traced to a dataset released on the dark web. In response to the lawsuits that followed these events, AT&T reached a settlement agreement worth $177 million, which has received preliminary approval from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The court's order highlighted the establishment of a financial pool, which includes $149 million designated for one settlement class and $28 million for the other. This financial arrangement is intended to cover class member benefits, administrative costs related to the settlement, court-approved attorney fees, and service awards for the plaintiffs who acted as class representatives. Current and former AT&T users who can demonstrate documented financial losses linked to the breaches from 2019 and earlier are eligible to file claims, potentially receiving up to $5,000 depending on the specifics of their claims. For losses tied to the second breach, claimants may receive a maximum of $2,500. Important deadlines for affected users include November 18 for claims submission and opting out of the settlement, with notifications about the settlement expected to begin between August 4 and October 17. Despite AT&T's assertion that they deny any responsibility for the breaches and their aftermath, they have opted for a settlement to avoid the costs and uncertainties involved in prolonged litigation. The company emphasizes its commitment to protecting user data as it prepares for final settlement approval later this year. Once finalized, the payments to eligible users are anticipated to be distributed at the beginning of the following year, which signals AT&T's acknowledgment of the severity and implications of its data security practices as it continues to navigate these legal challenges.