AT&T reportedly gave $370,000 to a hacker to delete its stolen customer data

AT&T paid a hacker about $370,000 to delete customer data that was stolen from it as part of a hacking spree earlier this year4. The hacker, who was part of the ShinyHunters hacking group, originally demanded $1 million but settled for the lower amount. AT&T negotiated through an intermediary and paid the ransom in bitcoin on May 17th.

The hacker provided a video to AT&T as proof that they had deleted the stolen customer data. This video was part of the negotiation process between AT&T and the hacker, who had initially demanded $1 million before settling for $370,000, which AT&T paid in bitcoin.