The settlement with the Federal Communications Commission resolves an investigation of a cyberattack that saw almost 9 million customer records exposed.

AT&T failed to ensure that a third-party vendor adequately protected the telecom carrier's customers, regulators say.

This week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reached a settlement with telco giant AT&T, fining them $13 million for their lack of oversight over customers’ data security. Back in January 2023, bad actors gained access to the data of 8.9 million AT&T customers via a cyberattack on an unnamed third-party cloud vendor.

The FCC said that the mandatory changes in the settlement's terms will likely require AT&T to make significant investments that far exceed the $13 million fine.