Krachunovsky believes that while blockchain cannot completely avert data breaches, it is a better way to store sensitive information.
Tim Kravchunosky, the CEO and founder of decentralized telecommunications company Chirp, has said that the recent AT&T breach is “inexcusable” and could have been avoided using blockchain technology. According to Kravchunosky, AT&T should have stored its data on a blockchain.
Blockchain Will Help AT&T Improve Data Storage and Protection, Says Chirp CEO
The executive said the breach highlights the need for safe database storage, including decentralized solutions that are more likely to thwart external threats.
“Storing the data on an immutable ledger and tracking threats in real-time allows for a rapid response before a breach occurs,” Kravchunosky said.
The executive continued by adding that while a distributed ledger cannot ensure that another breach will never happen, it can significantly improve data protection.
“Of course, there’s never a guarantee that a breach like the one reported by AT&T couldn’t happen if the data were stored on the blockchain, but the odds are much slimmer. Plus, blockchain is transparent, so it’s impossible to hide such breaches for two years,” he expalined.
Last Friday, AT&T admitted that hackers had “unlawfully accessed and copied AT&T call logs” from a third-party cloud platform. The company said it became aware of the situation following an internal investigation it conducted in April. According to reports, the data accessed did not include the content of the calls or messages sent and received by customers, or personal information.
However, the hackers had access to metadata, which included phone numbers. In a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), AT&T admits that these data, especially in large numbers, can be analyzed to collect patterns and connections between people. According to Thomas Rid, a professor of strategic studies, warning that more investigation is necessary to determine how much hackers to from AT&T:
“If you have somebody’s metadata, you know when they go to work, where they go to work, where they sleep every night.”
Reportedly, the hackers got information about text messages and calls between May 1 and October 31, 2022, and January 2, 2023.
AT&T Paid Hackers More Than $370,000 to Delete Data
According to a Wired report, AT&T paid the hackers over $370,000 in Bitcoin to delete the data and submit a video with proof of deletion. The report states that the hacker received the AT&T payment in May and provided the sending and receiving Bitcoin addresses as proof. Using an online blockchain tracking tool, Wired confirmed a 5.7 Bitcoin payment on May 17. TRM Labs’ head of global investigations Chris Janczewski also separately confirmed a 5.72 Bitcoin transaction, worth $373,646 at the time. The hacker then funneled through multiple crypto wallets and exchanges.
A security researcher simply known as Reddington served as an intermediary between the hacker and AT&T, allegedly receiving at least $300,000 as a fee. Reddington also provided Wired with proof of payment. Reddington believes that the hackers really deleted the stolen data because they were stored in a cloud server also accessible to Reddington.
Allegedly, the hacker is a member of ShinyHunters, a hacking group notorious for data theft.
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