Home Security Giant ADT Admits It Has Been Hacked

ADT, one of the largest home security providers in the U.S., has been hacked. The breach, which was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, involves multiple databases containing customer information, including home addresses, emails, and phone numbers.

TechCrunch, which originally reported the breach, notes that the company’s disclosure comes only a week after a seller on a cybercrime forum claimed to have over 30,000 customer records stolen from the company. As ADT’s SEC filing states, the data that was stolen includes “email addresses, phone numbers and postal addresses.”

ADT notably sells home security systems with live video feeds, though the company has stated that these systems were not breached in the course of the incident. In a statement provided to Gizmodo, ADT asserted that “none of our customers’ home security systems were compromised and no personally sensitive information credit card data, or banking information was accessed.” ADT claims that the customers impacted by the breach “comprise a small percentage” of its “overall subscriber base.”

Data breaches vary in shape and size, and the security industry is not immune to them. In 2021, the security company Verkada was hacked by a cybercrime group calling itself “Arson Cats.” The digital intruder managed to gain access to 150,000 live video feeds, including those belonging to large companies, like Cloudflare, Equinox, and Tesla.

ADT is a very big (and very old) company, so it’s understandable that it’s had its share of problems over the years. Back in 2021, an ADT security worker was caught abusing access to hundreds of customers’ home security feeds, often to watch women undress or see people have sex. That guy was eventually sentenced to prison. Back in the 1970s and 80s, the notorious serial killer Dennis Rader (aka the “BTK killer”) also worked for the company. Not great.

If you are an ADT customer and you were impacted by the recent data breach, you should’ve received a notice from the firm by now. If you want to check with the company, however, ADT has provided a dedicated phone number with a support team to answer customers’ questions. You can call: (866) 437-9016.