Did AT&T Pay $400,000 In Bitcoin To Data Hackers?

There are new revelations that suggest telecoms giant AT&T Inc. allegedly paid hackers who claimed to have compromised the telecommunication network and stole sensitive information back in 2022. As per assertions by one of the hackers, the company paid $400,000 to the malicious group in what appears to be a ransom.

The AT&T Ransomware Payment to Hackers

According to a Bloomberg report, the hacker says they extorted $400,000 from AT&T to delete the data trove of sensitive call and text logs. These data were stolen from almost all of AT&T’s wireless customers over six months.

Media efforts to get the multinational telecommunications holding company to comment on the hacker’s claim on the ransom payment proved abortive. Similarly, the FBI and officials at the Department of Justice refused to acknowledge if the company made any payment at the time.

However, a ransomware expert who preferred anonymity due to the confidential nature of the subject confirmed AT&T paid out a ransom to the hacker. Additionally, the hacker provided a Bitcoin wallet address and an analysis of it revealed what experts consider a likely extortion transaction around mid-May.

Meanwhile, analysis by renowned Chainalysis Inc. of the publicly accessible ledger shows interesting movement. According to Chainalysis, there appears to be an extortion payment as an unknown entity deposited Bitcoin valued at $380,000 at the time into the wallet address that the hacker provided.

Subsequently, a smaller amount came from the wallet to that of a notorious hacker which Chainalysis refused to disclose. However, from its analysis, the company says it could not verify or ascertain if the payment was initiated by AT&T. 

It is also not clear if the telecommunication company used an intermediary.

Historic Ransomware Payments

Notably, the hacker had provided information and about a seven-minute video which they claimed was proof of them deleting the stolen data. According to them, it was done in fulfillment of their end of the bargain with AT&T.

However, other analysts say considering the details and sensitivity of the supposed stolen information which posed national security risks, the $400,000 was significantly low. They maintain that other ransomware attacks have extorted larger sums from corporate organizations.

A ready example was when Colonial Pipeline Co. experienced a data breach. The company had to pay $4.4 million to a group of hackers in 2021 as the attack had forced it to shut down its pipeline, affecting gas supplies to the East Coast of the United States.

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