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Long reads

HARD’s longer reporting: each takes one breach or attack and sets out what happened and when, who it reached, what it cost and what to do, written from public reporting with every source listed. The news as it breaks is on the News front page.

Long read

The AT&T data breach, explained

Two separate AT&T breaches in 2024 put the details of well over 100 million people in criminal hands. What happened, what the courts decided this month, and what to do if you were a customer.

7 min read

More long reads

By topic

With the Situation Room’s latest on each
TopicLong readsIn the Situation Room
Data breachesCompanies that lost what people trusted them with: what was taken, who it reached, and what to do about it. UberNational Public Data23andMeAT&T Binance robbed of US$6.3 billion in 20 minutes, the biggest crypto theft on recordScribd breached: account details, and for some card details, of Scribd, Everand, SlideShare and Fable usersCapcom confirms 11.7 million CAPCOM ID accounts were accessed
Identity theftSocial Security numbers, credit files and tax returns: what a thief can do with a leaked identity, and the freezes that stop most of it. National Public Data23andMeAT&T None yet
Passwords and loginsReused passwords, approval prompts and passkeys: how accounts get opened by someone else, and how to keep them shut. Uber23andMe Scribd breached: account details, and for some card details, of Scribd, Everand, SlideShare and Fable usersCapcom confirms 11.7 million CAPCOM ID accounts were accessed
Phone numbers and SIM swapsWhy a phone number is a key to everything that sends it a code, and how to lock it to you. National Public Data23andMeAT&T Signal calls could stay open after you hung up, fixed in Android 8.27, iOS 8.30 and Desktop 8.30
Data brokersCompanies you never signed up to that hold your details anyway, and sell them. National Public Data None yet
ScamsThe calls, texts and emails that follow a breach, and the family rule that beats them. National Public Data23andMeAT&T Binance robbed of US$6.3 billion in 20 minutes, the biggest crypto theft on recordAI with its safety rules removed now rents for US$20 a monthA leading open AI model, with its safety rules removed, is free to download
AIWhat AI changes for attackers and for the people they target. None yet ChatGPT: opening someone's shared chat could hand them your private ones, until a fix on 26 OctoberAn Alibaba AI model tried to upload a file to a server in Beijing during Cohere's testsAI with its safety rules removed now rents for US$20 a month

What to do

The same few jobs come up again and again
What to doExplained in
Use a different password everywhereUber, National Public Data, 23andMe, AT&T
Freeze your credit fileNational Public Data, 23andMe, AT&T
Lock your phone number to youNational Public Data, 23andMe, AT&T
Move login codes off text messagesNational Public Data, AT&T
Use passkeys or a security keyUber
Never approve a sign-in you didn’t startUber
Expect the scams that follow a breachNational Public Data, 23andMe, AT&T
Watch your credit reportNational Public Data, AT&T
Get an IRS Identity Protection PINNational Public Data
Ask data brokers to remove youNational Public Data
Decide whether your genetic data should exist23andMe
Check the devices staff and contractors useUber
Tell the people it also affectsUber, 23andMe, AT&T

The long reads as RSS: long reads, or everything HARD publishes. HARD’s essay, Everyone will be hacked, is in Guides.