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AT&T Inc. today said that unauthorized persons illegally hacked into a computer system and accessed personal data, including credit card information, from several thousand customers who purchased DSL equipment through the company’s online Web store.

The unauthorized electronic access took place over the weekend, was discovered within hours and the online store was shut down immediately. AT&T also quickly notified the major credit card companies whose customer accounts were involved. The company is now working with law enforcement.

Customer notifications are ongoing by email, phone and letter to fewer than 19,000 customers. In addition to notifying those customers who were affected, the company will pay for credit monitoring services to assist in protecting the customers involved.

“We recognize that there is an active market for illegally obtained personal information. We are committed to both protecting our customers’ privacy and to weeding out and punishing the violators,” said Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, chief privacy officer for AT&T. “We deeply regret this incident and we intend to pay for credit monitoring services for customers whose accounts have been impacted. We will work closely with law enforcement to bring these data thieves to account.”

Customers who have been affected have been provided with a toll-free number to call for more information.

Posted under Privacy

The U.S. General Services Administration has issued a blanket purchase agreement to a Massachusetts firm specializing in identity theft monitoring services. According to Identity Force, a subsidiary of Bearak Reports, the company received the government’s order on August 14, shortly after the well publicized data breaches of U.S. military personnel records.

Identity Force says it is the only firm on the BPA that also provides Social Security Number Monitoring, Credit Card Monitoring and Public Record Directory Monitoring & Deletion. These three additional elements provide a proactive and preemptive frontline defense that notifies consumers if anyone is attempting to steal his/her identity, and is a more effective response to data breaches than only providing credit report monitoring.

The GSA issued the Credit Monitoring Blanket Purchase Agreement on August 14, 2006, shortly after the Veteran’s Administration experienced one of the largest data breaches on record.

Federal Agencies that experience a data breach can select Identity Force as a pre-approved vendor to provide credit monitoring and other identity theft prevention solutions that will protect individuals whose personal information has been compromised. Identity Force will immediately execute a planned response directly matched to the risk level of the exposure. The BPA contract will be in effect for five years.

Posted under Safety