ADT, Charter Communications and Aura: Hackers allegedly stole 40 million records from Charter Communications — everything you need to know

Charter Communications Confirms Data Breach Amid Contradictory Claims by ShinyHunters

In April, Charter Communications parent company of Spectrum, which serves millions of U.S. customers experienced a data breach linked to the hacking group ShinyHunters. The company confirmed the incident to Tom’s Guide, stating that no sensitive personal or business information was compromised, including customer proprietary network information (CPNI).

However, ShinyHunters contradicted Charter’s claims, asserting that it stole 40 million records containing customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, plan details, and some CPNI data. The group reportedly breached Charter on April 1 via a voice phishing attack that compromised an employee account. Additional data, such as support ticket information, was also allegedly taken.

Charter maintains that its security protocols were activated and authorities were notified, but the discrepancy between the company’s statement and the hackers’ claims remains unresolved.

ShinyHunters’ Recent Activity
The group has been highly active in 2024, with at least three major breaches attributed to it this year alone. In February, it targeted Panera, exposing data for over 5 million customers. In March, identity protection firm Aura suffered a breach affecting nearly 1 million individuals, followed by a 5.5-million-customer breach at ADT in April.

ShinyHunters, active since 2019, continues to pose a significant threat to both consumer and business data, with no signs of slowing down.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/online-security/hackers-allegedly-stole-40-million-records-from-charter-communications-everything-you-need-to-know

Standard Chartered Global Private Bank cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/standard-chartered-private-bank

Shibaura Electronics Co., Ltd. cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/shibaura-electronics-co-ltd

ADT cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/adt

"id": "STASHIADT1779870423",
"linkid": "standard-chartered-private-bank, shibaura-electronics-co-ltd, adt",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "4/2026",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '40 million (disputed)',
                        'industry': 'Internet and Cable Services',
                        'location': 'United States',
                        'name': 'Charter Communications (Spectrum)',
                        'size': 'Large (millions of customers)',
                        'type': 'Telecommunications'}],
 'attack_vector': 'Voice Phishing',
 'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes (alleged)',
                 'number_of_records_exposed': '40 million (disputed)',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': 'Yes',
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'Moderate to High (disputed)',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Customer names',
                                              'Email addresses',
                                              'Phone numbers',
                                              'Plan details',
                                              'Support ticket information',
                                              'CPNI data (disputed)']},
 'date_detected': '2024-04-01',
 'description': 'Charter Communications, parent company of Spectrum, '
                'experienced a data breach linked to the hacking group '
                'ShinyHunters. The company confirmed the incident but stated '
                'no sensitive personal or business information was '
                'compromised, while ShinyHunters claimed to have stolen 40 '
                'million records containing customer data.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': 'Customer names, email addresses, phone '
                                'numbers, plan details, support ticket '
                                'information, and some CPNI data (disputed)',
            'identity_theft_risk': 'Potential'},
 'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'Voice phishing attack on employee'},
 'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
 'references': [{'source': 'Tom’s Guide'}],
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public statement to Tom’s Guide',
              'incident_response_plan_activated': 'Yes',
              'law_enforcement_notified': 'Yes'},
 'threat_actor': 'ShinyHunters',
 'title': 'Charter Communications Data Breach',
 'type': 'Data Breach',
 'vulnerability_exploited': 'Compromised employee account'}