DALLAS, Texas — An Iranian-linked hacking group claimed responsibility for a widespread AT&T outage that disrupted service for thousands of Texans Monday, but AT&T said Wednesday it has no evidence that a cyberattack caused the disruption.
APT IRAN, which is associated with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated CyberAv3nger, claimed on Telegram Tuesday that it had attacked a telecommunications company and an unidentified water utility in Texas, according to Threat Beat.
The group had threatened attacks against U.S. telecommunications, energy and water industries in late August, warning of “unexpected and critical events” before Sept. 11. It has also claimed responsibility for attacks targeting U.S. water systems.
AT&T rejected the group’s claim regarding Monday’s outage.
“We have no evidence to support that claim,” an AT&T spokesperson told the Houston Chronicle Wednesday. The company said its assessment indicates that attempted cable theft caused the outage.
Thousands report service disruption
Customers began reporting AT&T service problems around 2:18 a.m. Monday, according to DownDetector. Reports surged again in the afternoon, with thousands of complaints from Houston, Spring, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin.
AT&T said around 4 p.m. Monday that a major fiber outage affected the Dallas area and more than 7,000 families.
“We hear you, and we are currently addressing a major Fiber outage affecting the Dallas area,” the company said on X. AT&T also apologized for the lack of immediate updates.
The outage has since been resolved.
AT&T said internet service across Dallas and surrounding areas was operating normally Wednesday and that it would continue monitoring its network and reviewing relevant information.
The company has not indicated that it found evidence linking the outage to the Iranian group’s claim.
