Charter Communications: Have I Been Pwned’s Post

Charter Communications Hit by ShinyHunters Extortion Campaign, 4.9M Records Leaked

Last week, Charter Communications was targeted in a "pay or leak" extortion attack by the cybercriminal group ShinyHunters. The breach resulted in the exposure of 4.9 million unique email addresses, along with associated names, phone numbers, and physical addresses. The leaked data was subsequently published online.

Analysis revealed that 68% of the compromised email addresses were already linked to LinkedIn profiles, suggesting a significant overlap with professional networks. The incident highlights the growing trend of extortion-based breaches, where threat actors demand payment to prevent public disclosure of stolen data.

Charter Communications, a major U.S. telecommunications provider, has not yet issued a detailed public statement on the breach. The full scope of the impact including potential downstream risks such as phishing or identity theft remains under assessment. The incident underscores the persistent threat posed by cybercriminal groups leveraging stolen data for financial gain.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7465855396470108161

Charter Communications cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/charter-communications

"id": "CHA1779999866",
"linkid": "charter-communications",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "5/2026",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '4.9 million',
                        'industry': 'Telecommunications',
                        'location': 'U.S.',
                        'name': 'Charter Communications',
                        'type': 'Company'}],
 'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': True,
                 'number_of_records_exposed': '4.9 million',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': True,
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'Personally identifiable information',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Email addresses',
                                              'Names',
                                              'Phone numbers',
                                              'Physical addresses']},
 'description': "Charter Communications was targeted in a 'pay or leak' "
                'extortion attack by the cybercriminal group ShinyHunters. The '
                'breach resulted in the exposure of 4.9 million unique email '
                'addresses, along with associated names, phone numbers, and '
                'physical addresses. The leaked data was subsequently '
                'published online.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': '4.9 million unique email addresses, names, '
                                'phone numbers, and physical addresses',
            'identity_theft_risk': 'Potential downstream risks such as '
                                   'phishing or identity theft'},
 'investigation_status': 'Under assessment',
 'motivation': 'Financial gain',
 'threat_actor': 'ShinyHunters',
 'title': 'Charter Communications Hit by ShinyHunters Extortion Campaign',
 'type': 'Extortion'}