Frontier settles data breach affecting 59K Connecticut residents for $625K
The telecom got an expensive reminder of the importance of decent information security.
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- Frontier will pay $625,000 to Connecticut over a 2024 breach affecting 58,841 residents.
- Hackers used compromised employee and vendor credentials to access internal systems and steal unencrypted personal data.
- The stolen data included Social Security numbers and was later offered for sale on the dark web.
- A related class action settlement covers about 750,000 people and includes two years of free credit monitoring.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Frontier Communications and the Office of the Attorney General of Connecticut have agreed to a $625,000 settlement to resolve a 2024 data breach.
In April 2024, the American telecommunications company detected unauthorized access to its internal IT systems. The attacker used compromised credentials belonging to Frontier employees and vendors to access the company’s network.
Upon investigation, cybersecurity experts found that hackers had exfiltrated unencrypted sensitive personal information from 58,841 Connecticut residents, including Social Security numbers.
The stolen information was later offered for sale on the dark web.
In addition to the data breach, security analysts identified multiple security failings at Frontier Communications in identity and access management, segmentation, logging and monitoring, encryption, incident response, training, and data loss prevention.
To resolve all charges, Frontier agreed to pay a $625,000 fine to the Office of the Attorney General of Connecticut.
In addition, the telecom provider has promised to strengthen its data security practices, such as stronger access controls and password management, implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA), appropriate employee training, penetration testing, and intrusion and endpoint detection.
“Frontier collected and maintained sensitive records for tens of thousands of Connecticut customers, and they had an obligation to secure that data. Today’s settlement, following a related class action, holds Frontier accountable and requires strong new security measures to ensure this type of breach does not occur again,” Attorney General William Tong said in a statement on Friday.
Frontier Communications, which Verizon acquired in January 2026, also reached a separate $5.64 million settlement in a related class action in federal court in Texas. The settlement will provide compensation or other benefits to around 750,000 people across the US, including 2 years of free credit monitoring.
“Our company takes data security very seriously. We are pleased to have reached an amicable resolution,” Verizon spokesperson Diana Alvear told news outlet CT Insider.
