AT&T agrees to $177 million settlement over data breaches: Know who is eligible and how to claim

AT&T is scheduled to roll out a long-due $177 million settlement amount as per the preliminary approval passed by a US district judge in Texas.

AT&T is scheduled to roll out a long-due $177 million settlement amount on June 20, as per the preliminary approval passed by a US district judge in Texas. This amount will be distributed to affected current and past subscribers who lost confidential data due to security breaches through external hacking. A final hearing on the matter is scheduled for December 3 this year.

AT&T agrees to $177 million settlement over data breaches (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) (AP)

What happened?

In 2019, a major data leak in the network service provider resulted in the names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth of multiple customers being compromised by cybercriminals. Out of the $177 million settlement amount being distributed by the company, $149 million is meant to address his breach specifically. About 51 million users’ data was compromised and a string of lawsuits followed in its wake.

In April 2024, another data breach by cloud storage provider Snowflake resulted in cybercriminals gaining direct access to call and text records of AT&T customers. The company claimed that no client names were divulged in the process. The remaining $28 million from the settlement amount is meant to address the legal action against the company as a result of this mishap.

Who is eligible?

A court document states that the approval process will officially kick off on August 4. All those eligible to receive a slice of the settlement will receive electronic or physical intimation during this summer.

How to claim your settlement amount

Those who submitted documentation as proof of the degree of personal data affected as a result of the hacks will be eligible for a higher payment amount. This can go up to $5,000 in the first case and $2,500 in the second one. The amount will ordinarily be decided based on the number of people eligible for payment and the degree of personal loss caused.

At the time, AT&T issued a public statement that read, “While we deny the allegations in these lawsuits that we were responsible for these criminal acts, we have agreed to this settlement to avoid the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation. We remain committed to protecting our customers' data and ensuring their continued trust in us.”

Following final court approval, the payment amount will be sent to beneficiaries next year.

– By Stuti Gupta