AT&T to pay $13 million FCC settlement for 2023 data breach

AT&T agreed to pay $13 million to resolve an FCC investigation into a January 2023 incident in which hackers breached an AT&T vendor's cloud environment and stole customer information; the consent decree requires AT&T to implement a data inventory program, stronger vendor controls, an information security program, annual compliance audits, and retention/disposal verification. The report highlights regulatory focus on telecom cybersecurity and references prior large-scale AT&T data breaches and a ransom-paid incident affecting millions of customers.