AT&T Announces Suspected Cause of Nationwide Cell Outage: ‘An Incorrect Process’

After a service disruption Thursday effected tens of thousands of AT&T, sparking fears of a cyber attack, the company announced that evening that an internal error was the source of the problems.

The company didn’t say how many of its customers had been affected by the issue, but USAToday cited data from website Downdetector as showing more than 70,000 reported problems. (That number, as USAToday itself noted, “may not be accurate.”)

ABC News reported that the outage had been “urgently investigated” by federal authorities to determine whether bad actors, but saw no evidence of anything suspicious.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a memo cited by ABC that “the cause of the outage is unknown and there are no indications of malicious activity.”

The company issued three network updates on its website during the day Thursday regarding the service interruption.

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February 22, 2024, 10:15 a.m. CT

Some of our customers are experiencing wireless service interruptions this morning. Our network teams took immediate action and so far three-quarters of our network has been restored. We are working as quickly as possible to restore service to remaining customers.

February 22, 2024, 2:10 p.m. CT

We have restored wireless service to all our affected customers. We sincerely apologize to them. Keeping our customers connected remains our top priority, and we are taking steps to ensure our customers do not experience this again in the future.

Did you have cellphone difficulties during the mass outage?

Last updated February 22, 2024, 6:46 p.m. CT

Based on our initial review, we believe that today’s outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network, not a cyber attack.  We are continuing our assessment of today’s outage to ensure we keep delivering the service that our customers deserve.

The outages prevented some users from calling 911 in case of emergency, prompting some local authorities to warn of the need to request emergency services by other means, if necessary.

For example, North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said that consumers may not be able to contact 911, but that the emergency call center was operating normally if residents could reach it by another means.

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AT&T has over 100 million customers in the U.S., according to the “investor profile” page on its website.

No other major providers experienced similar problems, according to ABC.


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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of “WJ Live,” powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.

George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English as well as a Master’s in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.

Birthplace

Foxborough, Massachusetts

Nationality

American

Honors/Awards

Beta Gamma Sigma

Education

B.A., English, UNCG; M.A., English, UNCG; MBA, UNCG

Location

North Carolina

Languages Spoken

English

Topics of Expertise

Faith, Business, Leadership and Management, Military, Politics



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