Court Approves AT&T Data Breach Settlement

A Texas federal court has approved the class-action settlement over AT&T's 2024 data breaches, though payments have not yet been issued.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Cybersecurity

Court Approves AT&T Data Breach Settlement

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The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, approved the settlement agreement on October 2, 2025, resolving class-action claims tied to AT&T's data breaches. AT&T stated that about 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders were affected by the first breach, and a second incident in July 2024 affected nearly 110 million consumers.

Why it matters

Plaintiffs allege that savings were fraudulently drained, unauthorized loans were taken out in their names, and credit ratings fell as a result of the breaches. Eligible Texans and other U.S. customers affected by the incidents may be entitled to cash payments under the approved terms.

The settlement caps cash payments at $5,000 for AT&T 1 Settlement Class Members and $2,500 for AT&T 2 Settlement Class Members, with the breaches exposing data including Social Security numbers. Payments remain on hold pending the expiration of the appeal period, and CourtListener lists no appeals as of November 10.

The players

AT&T

AT&T is a major U.S. telecommunications company whose data breaches in 2024 affected tens of millions of current and former customers.

Kroll

Kroll is a global risk and financial advisory firm that served as the settlement administrator for the AT&T data breach class action.

The details

Certain limited data was illegally downloaded from an AT&T workspace on a third-party cloud platform hosted by Snowflake, Inc., and the first incident involved AT&T-specific fields from a dark-web data set that included Social Security numbers. Kroll, the settlement administrator, said in an October 30 update that no payments had been issued.

March 2024: First AT&T data breach involving leaked personal information is reported.
July 2024: AT&T announces a second incident affecting nearly 110 million consumers.
October 2, 2025: The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas approves the settlement terms.
October 30, 2025: Kroll reports that payments have not yet been issued.
November 10, 2025: CourtListener lists no appeals of the settlement.

Legal Context

Like the 2017 Equifax settlement approved by a U.S. federal court, the AT&T agreement ties cash payments to breach victims to an appeal period that can delay distribution. The structure reflects how large consumer data breach class actions often move slowly from court approval to actual payouts.

Customers affected by the AT&T breaches may be eligible for cash payments of up to $5,000 or $2,500, depending on which settlement class they belong to. Those payments will not arrive until the appeal period ends and any appeals are resolved.

The takeaway

Customers whose data was exposed in large breaches should watch for official settlement notices and confirm their eligibility before deadlines pass. Monitoring credit reports can help detect fraud while payouts remain pending.